Bold is Beautiful

It would be fair to say that President John F. Kennedy was a bold leader. When challenged about putting a man on the moon, he said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things––not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize the best of our abilities and skills, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”

Those words, uttered some 57 years ago, were prophetic. America embraced the challenge of putting a man on the moon. And on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step down on the lunar surface. In the process, by sending three astronauts into space on Apollo 11, landing a lunar module on the moon’s surface, and then bringing them back to earth served to “organize the best of our abilities and skills.” Those abilities and skills have been employed to benefit society in a multitude of ways. Everything from the lifesaving heart pump for patients awaiting heart transplants to the memory foam bed, some of you enjoy, came about because of the “hard” work of putting a man on the moon.

It would also be fair to say that our own Bill Wilson is a bold leader. During our March presbytery meeting, authorization was given to commission Jon and Cyndi Davis to explore the need and feasibility of planting an international church in Portland similar to Beijing International Christian Fellowship, the church they pastored for more than 19 years. Pastor Bill shared with the presbytery that we have been wrestling with the question of how to reach those “fragments” of nations residing in our own back yard. Jon and Cyndi have the experience and expertise to assess the feasibility of establishing a ministry platform of support for providing physical space, a greater sense of community, leadership development, and ministry resources to effectively advance the Kingdom of God among Portland’s growing diaspora. This is a BOLD move that provides an opportunity for the OMN to do something that is certainly “hard," but will enable us to “organize the best of our abilities and skills.” The outcome will be a greater capacity for both local and global impact!

As we take God-inspired BOLD steps, steps that are impossible without his enablement, I’m convinced our capacity as a network of ministers and churches will increase to a level that will spiritually benefit both our communities and cities, state, nation, and world! After all, our assignment is greater than placing a man on the moon; we are in the business of populating heaven! And, using the words of President Kennedy, this “challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win!”

At first glance, you might have mistakenly read, “Bald is beautiful.” There’s a saying that God only made so many perfect heads, the others are covered with hair!” Please, no disrespect is intended for those with perfect heads! But it did occur to me that when we minister in a risk-adverse and safe mode, it is much like covering our actions with a "full head of hair” to conceal our lack of confidence in God’s ability to do the impossible. In contrast, taking bold steps, initiatives that require God to show up, exposes God as our source and brings glory to his name! Yes, I think you would agree, “Bold is beautiful!”