Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
The American West was won through the combined efforts of scouts, pioneers, and settlers.
The scouts went out first, identifying opportunities and envisioning new things that could be. The pioneers followed, establishing a 
basic infrastructure in a hostile, untamed environment. Finally, the settlers came and populated the land to create new communities and economies that could sustain life.
A contemporary example of this is how we started the church in Chapel Hill. Years ago God placed in my heart that He wanted us to plant a church there. I spent a lot of time in Chapel Hill praying and seeking God for when and how to start this church. I was primarily used as a scout of the mission.
In time, God placed it in Matthew and Sarah’s heart to move to Chapel Hill and start the church. They are being used primarily as pioneers and settlers of the mission.
If you are very self-aware, you can identify whether you are a scout, pioneer or settler. Most people are a mixture of them. I am a mix of scout and pioneer and I think my wife, Becky, is a blend of pioneer and settler.
In the church, I discovered I was pretty good at scouting and pioneering, but not so good at settling. One evening I called a meeting of our leaders to talk about some innovative thoughts I was having about our church. One of the men, who is a more settler type, asked me some really tough implementation type questions. The questions were fair and legitimate. I just did not have any answers. The meeting did not turn out well.
The next morning, I was admonished by another leader for being defensive when there was no reason for it. I have never forgotten that lesson. It is one thing to think innovatively, but a whole other thing to implement those thoughts.
If I had been wiser back then, I would have taken advantage of the wisdom of the man, who was more of a settler, in how to implement some of my thinking. For any organization or family to be healthy, you must have scouts, pioneers, and settlers actively involved.
I believe we are in a time where the Holy Spirit is stirring the hearts of the scouts and pioneers. Creativity and innovation are high on God’s heart. The Holy Spirit wants to break us out of complacency, comfort, and self-imposed “normalcy.”
Jesus told John the Baptist’s disciples that people don’t put new wine into old wineskins because the skins will burst and the wine will be wasted (Matt. 9:17). But much of the time we insist on pouring the new wine in the old models and ways, again and again. We resist innovation and we fight progress.
What is new wine? New wine is a fresh move of God. It is the fresh promise of the Holy Spirit. It is the new direction of the Lord. It represents what God is saying and doing today, not yesterday.
What is a new wineskin? A new wineskin has the capacity to grow and stretch. It can receive new wine because it can enlarge and expand to accommodate the bubbling beverage. A believer who is growing in Christ is a new wineskin. A believer who accepts new assignments and new challenges is a new wineskin.
Putting new wine into old wineskins means that new practices do not always sit well with old practices. New methods cannot be fully explained or justified by old theories. New approaches often break the boundaries and rules of old paradigms. This is precisely where the settlers can have the most influence. If and only if they are willing to become a new wineskin them self.
Many Blessings, BW