Principles that Guide Our Churches

Recently, I flew into Atlanta to be with Stan Ott as we began the adventure we call the Acts 16:5 Initiative with NE Georgia Presbytery.  On approach to the airport we flew for an inordinate amount of time in the clouds with no visibility.  I thought to myself,

“Man, I sure am glad the pilots of this plane are instrument rated or we would never be able to touch down safely.” 

Finally, we broke through the clouds and land was suddenly visible. We were so close to the ground that our wheels touched down in twenty-six seconds from when we dropped below the cloud cover.  Again I thought about the plane’s instruments: “It amazes me that the instruments can guide the pilots so accurately that our plane was directly in line with the runway when we were only twenty-six seconds away.”

We say in our first day with a presbytery that Acts 16:5 Initiative is not a program.  Acts 16:5 Initiative is a three-year journey that examines biblical principles for ministry and teaches church leaders how to effectively design ministry for their unique setting.  The principles taught in the Acts 16:5 Initiative serve church leaders (pilots) in a similar way that the instrument panel in the cockpit of a plane serves the pilots.  The pilots learn the purpose of each instrument, and they learn to trust the instruments when they cannot see land.  Church leaders will learn, through the three-year Acts 16:5 Initiative experience, how to read a number of “instruments” that are designed to get the church to its intended destination: glorify God, make disciples, meet human needs.  Some of the “instruments” used are already familiar to our church leaders; some are not. 

One last thought in this analogy.  It also occurred to me that the pilot of a four-passenger Cessna relies on some of the same instruments that the pilot of a 747 uses.  Granted, the cockpit of a 747 is much more complicated and sophisticated, but both pilots rely on an altimeter to know just how far they are off the ground.  So it is with the Acts 16:5 Initiative principles taught to church leaders.  Because they are biblical, they are universal.   Because they are universal, they apply to each size church.  Yes, the “pilot” of a 1,500-member church has a more complex “plane” to fly, but he/she still needs to know “how far are we off the ground” just as the “pilot” of a 40-member church. 

Some pilots of planes are not instrumented rated.  They can only fly safely when the skies are clear and they can see the ground.  They are very limited as to their flight time and destination.  And in Indiana, where I come from, good luck finding a cloudless day.  If you feel like you are “piloting this plane” and aren’t “instrument rated” – welcome to the Acts 16:5 Initiative Instrument Rated Flight School.  We will have you so familiar with the instruments in your cockpit (universal biblical principles to design ministry) that you will feel very safe no matter how cloudy the ministry seems to be.

In Christ - Hoyt Byrum