Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

P ART III: P LANTING U RBAN C HURCHES • 431

~ Flexibility (openness to change) is critical to exercising wisdom (God does things we don’t expect). ~ Wisdom may dictate action resulting in controversy, but if it is in the best interest of the vision, you must act courageously and sensitively. • Willingness to be in a protracted conflict ~ Armies continue fighting even when they know they will be defeated. ~ Prolonging the war reduces the humiliation of defeat. ~ You need help to be victorious but also when to minimize your losses. ~ “Encouraging people to pledge themselves to survival is an admission of defeat” (George Barna). • Experience. “I’ve been here a long time and I know what’s been going on. I’ve been in this community for twelve years and I know this isn’t going to work.”

Process that addresses barriers and benefits, and is both deliberate and emergent: • Deliberate: Decide now, before it’s too late. • Emergent: Face when it comes.