We ARE on the same team…I just forget it sometimes

I am a very competitive person. Matter of fact it is a major flaw on my part. I am so competitive that I will not play basketball with the guys of our church because I will end up losing my temper.
My competitive nature is what drives me. I love to prove people wrong. When we started RSC people thought we wouldn’t make it. They pointed to a church plant failure a year before we came as proof that this area couldn’t handle a church plant like us. My competitive nature drove me to strive to make this thing work.
So sometimes it is good. Other times it is bad.
I am not proud of this but I find myself being competitive against other church plants in our area. Let me say this, I am glad they ALL are here and they ALL need to be here but my flesh takes over and I want to make sure we are the “best.” That is wrong.
I truly feel I have a kingdom mentality and I want them to succeed but I have really been convicted lately of not rejoicing enough when I hear of other plant’s successes. In my mind I always explain away why they have seen success.
Let me encourage you not to let this happen to you. I think (I hope it isn’t just me) that this is something that all planters at one time or another struggle with but we need to make sure we are checking our heart on this issue constantly.
We are all on the same side and I need to remember that.