I feel like we as a church are stuck in a rut. I was hoping the change to team leadership would be the wake up call we need, but we haven't really emerged from the funk. It seems that we are content to just keep existing the way we are. Church is something we do one night a week and on Sunday. While true, this may be all church is, it is certainly not all that Christianity is. This is a very dangerous position in my estimation.
God never called us to be there when we feel like it. He never intended for us to be loyal as long as things are going our way. I, as the pastor, am not asking for your loyalty to me. I am pointing out that God requires your loyalty to Him.
He did not say we would be His pals. A pal will definitely be there when things are going well, and may, or may not, be there when things get tough. He did not say we would be His acquaintances. An acquaintance just checks in every now and then and really doesn't know, or want to know the details of what is going on. No, the imagery Jesus used for His church is much stronger than these worldly examples.
Jesus said the church (and that is the people who call Him Lord, not just a building) is like a flock of sheep. If you have ever been around sheep, you know that they are near-sighted, dumb, smelly animals. They can't see far enough in front of them to stay out of trouble. And even if they could see it, they would probably wander into trouble anyway. And the smell, it is unlike anything else I have ever smelled, and that is not a good thing. So, if we are sheep, we must have a propensity for getting ourselves in trouble (guilty on my part) and not smell so good either (sin leaves a rotten funk in God's nostrils). Maybe if we were to see ourselves more like sheep, we wouldn't be so dogmatic about having things our way.
Jesus said the church (and that is the people who call Him Lord, not just a building) is full of slaves. He didn't call us to be His equals, but His servants. We are not saved to do our bidding, but His. We are not His to do everything we like, but to be obedient to our master.
Jesus said the church (and that is the people who call Him Lord, not just a building) is full of children. In all the other images up to this point, there is lacking the key ingredient of love. He loves us. And just like little children, we don't know it all. We sometimes think we do, but we don't. And our loving Father gives us direction and even discipline when we need it. He guides us and comforts us. He picks us up when we fall. He is indeed the ultimate Father figure.
Finally, Jesus said the church (and that is the people who call Him Lord, not just a building) is like His bride. A bride is someone with very intimate knowledge. Someone who is in it for the long haul. Someone who is unlikely to put her own needs ahead of her husband's needs (see Proverbs 31). Jesus called us His bride. We need to become more like a blushing bride than a boasting groom.
So, rather than proud, pull-ourselves-up-by-our-bootstraps people, we need to be more like sheep and slaves and children and brides. There is much more to Christianity than church on Sunday. Are you really living your faith? Or are you just existing? Let's break out of this rut and trust almighty God to bring about a tremendous result. Are you ready?
1 comment:
Hmmmm, in a rut? We were in a rut before, with committees and departments, but it was a "comfortable" rut, one we were used to.
It takes a long time to get into a rut, and we've only been doing this "team" concept for a little over a month. It came at a time when everybody was busy doing all the things they normally do at this time of year. We knew it was coming, but few of us knew how it would work, or who would do what, or where, or when. Some of us are just beginning to get the drift of what we are expected to do.
We have given teams a year (until September) to see if it's what we want to pursue. Once things calm down and slow down after the new year begins, we should all be willing to focus on the governance of our church. We can concentrate on examining the differences between the teams and our former way of doing things, and go forward.
Teams is your concept, Tony. You have seen it work in other churches, and you know it can work here, too. But we haven't seen what you have. We don't have your vision...yet..., and it will take time before we can see all the benefits. So...... please be patient with us.
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