What We Are AND What We Aren't: Putting the Pieces Together

My husband and I direct a small ministry by the name of Stir The Water.... Emerging forward from a very long season of transition and change, I turned back and looked forward and thought a little about what it is that we are and what it is that we aren't.......

I remember the day I was walking along side another with whom we had been in ministry with at one point, I remember that day clearly because there were moments that imprinted upon my being and have served to form and fashion me and what I think in regards to ministry and following the Lord and equipping the body of believers.  He spoke about connections to other leaders and how those that he walked with would compare contact lists to see who had who in their virtual rolodexes.  

My response was that Jim and I (Mims) wouldn't even be able to play that game.  We are horrible when it comes to networking.  I can't do surface conversation well and the comparision that goes on at such things kills my heart. Honestly it breaks my heart.  The notorious pastor's or leader type conferences where the ones that are presenting are supposedly the most "successful," and the majority of the conversations amongst peers concern numbers and programs and so on and so forth.

Stir the Water IS a lot of things and it ISN't a lot of things... and all the time it is powerful and important to clarify and to communicate these things to people.  

Stir the Water has been in transition for longer than I can imagine at this point.  The thoughts of when will the "baby" actually be birthed and the season of transition be in the past have been with me for quite some time.  

But, in all honesty after 3-5 plus years I honestly think we are beginning to push out and birth what it is that we are meant to be and it feels right and beautiful and even I feel to use the word, holy.  

So when I heard the word, holy, in my spirit, I decided to look it up...  "dedicated or consecrated to God," was one definition and "sacred," was the other. 

What have these years been and what have they taught?  Maybe one key component is that unless the Lord is building the house the labors labor in vain.  I believe that these years, as we have laid STW down countless times, and handed it back to the Lord for His purposes we have sincerely dedicated it to Him.  We have learned who it is that we are and who it is that we aren't.....

Here are some of those things....

• I think I can truly say we earnestly don't care if you think if we hear from God or interpret dreams well as long as YOU are equipped to interpret dreams and hear from God for yourself. We love the reality of dreams and the capacity of the senses to understand that which is truly real within the unseen and seen  reality of the Kingdom of God.  That you grow in your understanding of how to walk in the giftings and callings God has placed upon your life is VERY important to us.  Stir the Water NEEDS to be about the people that feel called to it not just one or two people but the gathering of believers who find refuge and comfort and safety and family within the confines of the grouping of people that make up that which is Stir The Water. 

• We aren't flashy and we aren't going to hype anything...  most of the time some component of the website has a bug in it and sometimes it has been pretty serious components.  While we are always shooting for excellence, we have learned to understand that we walk forward with what we have and are humbled when we need to be and walk as who we are before the Lord with as little pretense as we can.  Learning more and more all the time.  

• You are going to matter.. that is who we are... YOU are going to matter....  Your heart.. not just what you can do for Stir The Water but what does it mean for an online ministry to be a family for people who live separated by geography and time?  We are figuring that out more and more....  There is a lot for us to learn and discover but we are putting first things first AND above all else YOU are going to matter. 

• Loving God and being loved by Him is always going to trump gifting.... teaching you that you are a son or a daughter of the Most High God and empowering you to over come the hindrances and obstacles that block the truth of His affections from reverberating powerfully within you is going to be a priority!

I could go on and on about what we are and what we aren't..... We believe in the training and equipping and loving of the individual, we believe in empowering each one onto and into as full of a relationship with the Father and Jesus and Holy Spirit as each one is willing to walk into, we believe in a no hype approach..  we are going to charge for things, if you can't afford it .. we can talk, but we won't apoligize for inviting you to participate in the cost of bringing resources out but we won't allow the cost to hinder participation either.. (hence the push and development to use our Facebook page as a real off shoot of the essential parts of STW).

We are figuring things out still and are in process and don't mind that being public.. There is no image but the image of God that we are called to reflect and it is in our core belief we want you to know us and we want to know you.  That is a scary invitation.  There is no image for us or you to hide behind.  We are going to be real and admit when error and life have caused us to need God.  Jim has an incredible teaching on how the Lord comes and meets us in the waste places, and how transformative it is to know that we don't have to have it all "right" before we receive His presence and His comfort.  

We are forming  out this family of what it is that Stir The Water community is about!  I'll tell you that while the process has been beyond difficult and this last transition has been painful and full of challenge what is emerging is truly what I always wanted ministry to be....  Loving God and Loving People.  No hype.. No show.. No image.. No pretense... God and each other... figuring it out.  It will be messy!  What birth isn't?  But it will be worth it ... Growing together.......

This is who we are ... a little of who we aren't 

Join us for the journey of discovery.. Join us for in the discovery of what birth after transition looks like...  Here's to life and living....  

Bless you,

Mims Driscoll