Brain Dump -- Learning from a Redwood About Ministry that Endures

Redwood Trees
- are huge (can't tell how big they are without people in the shot)
[Don't tell me about your building or your bank account; tell me how many people you've reached]

- have been here longer than we have
[This thing didn't start when you came into position and it won't end when you leave ]

- oldest and tallest are found in valleys/gullies with year-round streams and where fog-drip is regular
[We need some year-round streams and some fog-drip!]

- thick bark protects from fire and insect damage
--- can go through fire and not get burned [Can't wear our feelings on our sleeves]
--- anything damageable is too high to be reached by fire [Must lay up treasures in heaven.]

* Succession Planning
- new Redwoods feed off older, fallen Redwoods

Jesus didn't finish everything He started (Acts 1:1 "began"), and you may not finish everything you start either

- Jn 15:15
- Acts 20:20
- 2 Tim 2:2

* Keep the main thing the main thing
- Redwoods are happy being trees, don't wish they were something else
- God determines the main thing, not you
- Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
--- lift with your legs, not with your back

* Cooperative, not Competitive
- Redwoods don't fight each other -- they help each other
- What if God decided to save 1000 souls in your city, but He did it through the church next door?
- Cooperative -- work together, Eph 4:16
- Not competitive -- no envy, each should esteem others better (Phil 2:3-4)