Our true connection started with a question: “What is your greatest desire for the church today?”
Alejandro and I had already been talking for thirty minutes, give or take. We’d introduced ourselves and explained what we do for a living. We’d found common ground in our commitment to sharing the gospel, to the Word of God, and to our desire to see communities helped through compassion ministries. I noticed, though, that we were hovering on surface-level information, touching on strategy and progress, but with little passion.
So I dug in. “What is your greatest desire for the church today?”
Alejandro stopped and leaned back in his chair, looking me in the eye for a moment as he let out his breath. He nodded almost imperceptibly. He was taking my question seriously because it was close to his heart. “Well,” he said, “We could do a better job at making disciples.”
Instinctively mirroring his posture and tone (non-verbal empathy we often offer without thinking), I allowed silence to sit for a few seconds.
“What would you like to see happen?” I finally asked. And everything shifted.
“Disciplemaking should become more of who we are, rather than something we do—something that characterizes the lifestyle of our ministry and church. You know…our team leaders train their teams, but I’m not sure how deep they go.”
As our conversation homed in on Alejandro’s desired outcome for his ministry, I saw his posture change as he leaned animatedly into the quickening pace of our discussion. He envisioned a future where each team member, eventually the church, and later the community were influenced by full, rich disciplemaking spreading throughout his neighborhood. We considered hurdles and possibilities for progress that lay before him.
In Christian scholarship, it isn’t unusual to hear, “We shouldn’t be led by our emotions. We should let truth and strategy lead.” However, I believe emotions are also a gift. We should harness emotions, holding them up to God’s Word, which keeps us from grave detours. The energy of our emotions propels us toward the future we long for God’s people to know and experience.
Alejandro’s imagination and passion for his church and neighborhood ignited our conversation with curiosity about the way forward. He could see himself and others committing to each other in pursuit of their desired future and transformation.
When we ask questions that evoke energy and harness movement, our reward is momentum in pursuing godly vision. Change is suddenly possible, and it all starts with a question.
