So towards the end of Kung Fu Panda after Po relentlessly trains to become worthy of the dragon scroll he finally gets his chance. The legendary scroll is brought down and Po unrolls it in hopes to discover the key to limitless power available to the dragon warrior. To his utter dismay and shock it is blank … not writing, nothing, just his reflection. Dejected and devastated he walks away from the dream of becoming the dragon warrior thinking it was all a scam or delusion to begin with.
As he’s helping the village flee the wrath of Ti Lung his father finally reveals the scret ingedient of his secret ingedient soup. (I know, great timing, eh? You’re supposed to be fleeing for your life but you’re talking about soup). Come to find out there IS NO secret ingredient … the soup is already special in and of itself. At that point Po pulls out the dragon scroll and unrolls it. What he sees this time is that its not simply a blank scroll but more like a mirror … showing Po his own reflection. It dawns on him … he IS the dragon warrior, the scroll did not reveal limitless power but instead the power Po already had within him … he was the secret ingredient. He then hurries to the Jade Palace to fight Ti Lung.
In church planting we have things so backwards and upside down. We have such an over-emphasis on strategies, target groups, business-like structures, research, marketing, and so on that we fail to realize that there is no secret ingredient. We are the dragon warriors. Everything we need is found within in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the gifts and abilities that He’s placed within us. I’ve been reading a refreshing church planting book called Deliberately Simple and last night I was delighted to read, “We don’t waste time on demographic studies. We don’t have a target audience. Jesus already told us to make disciples of all nations and go to the ends of the earth. We don’t feel the need to be particularly selective, if he is not going to be.” So true …
Why do we run around with a flurry of activity failing to realize we’re the dragon warriors? Everything we need is within. I’m tired of most of what we do is great for the business world but the problem is that we’re not in business. I’m constantly reminded throughout Scripture that God uses misfits, thugs, murderers, immoral people, prostitutes, weirdos, cowards, and illiterates for His plan and purposes. They’re all like the overwieght panda Po in Kung Fu Panda. He was no kung fu master but since he was chosen he had everything he needed within. Maybe we should starting listening as well …
