Do Not Be Afraid to Fail

My friend Paul Martin interviewed me on his blog the other day. Paul asked a great question: “Do you think the plant might fail and are you personally prepared for that?” The reality is that church plants are risky. Here’s how I answered (in part):

I’ve had to redefine failure as disobedience. That sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. I almost didn’t church plant because I was afraid of failing. I realized I sounded a lot like this guy: “I was afraid, and I went and hid your money in the ground” (Matthew 25:25). Not a good thing!

This church plant may fail, but I’m still committed to church planting, and to suffering. There’s no turning back.

You can read the rest here.

In response, a friend sent me an article about a “failed” church plant. Reflecting on the parable of the talents, the article says:

There is no shame in dreaming, in planning, in implementing, and in failing. There is shame in doing nothing … Do not be afraid to fail. Do not be afraid to dream big things for the Kingdom. But do be afraid to do nothing.

I love it. Not everything that fails is a failure. I’m excited about the future of Liberty Grace Church, but I’m equally excited about men and women who aren’t afraid to take risks for the sake of the Kingdom. The biggest failure is the failure that comes from fearfully taking no risks.