Spoiled children

I love my house. I won't go into all the reasons why I love this particular house, but there is one I would like point out. In the "living room" are floor-to-almost-ceiling windows facing east and the street in front of the house. Right now, I am sitting on the sofa looking out those windows. Why? Because I am waiting for my computer to be delivered. I had in my possession a new computer for about 6 months, but it stopped working correctly and I had to send it in to be serviced (it's still under warranty). The good news is that the service will cost me nothing, not even shipping. The bad news is I had to drop back to my old computer for the 7-14 days my new one was gone. I really liked that new model. It is faster and has a larger display. And I really want it back. Do you hear a spoiled child yet?

On Monday of this week, I got notice that the service was done and they were shipping it back and it was to be delivered Wednesday by 4:30pm. So, I am sitting in front of my beautiful windows looking for the FedEx truck and checking the shipping status every 15 minutes or so. Imagine my surprise/shock/horror when a red banner appeared at the top of the tracking page saying FedEx was experiencing a nation-wide service disruption and packages designated for delivery today might not make it. I want my computer back! Do you hear the spoiled child now?

If this older computer quits working for some reason, I can always drop back to my desktop computer that is in the basement. And if that one quits working, I still have some even older laptops that will at least let me get email and browse the internet. But I still want my new one back! Do you hear it?

I keep asking if you hear it because I started listening to my own inner voice whining and thought how incredibly spoiled I sounded. Here I have access to at least 3 working computers which is more than many people I know have and I'm complaining about not having the newer one. Here I sit with the one generation back smart phone and I'm contemplating upgrading to the newest generation because my current isn't "fast enough". Fast enough for what? Fast enough to appease the spoiled child in me who wants what he wants right now.

And I think this attitude gets a lot of attention in churches in America today. Will the next new program make churches grow any faster? Is there really any such thing as a "new" church program (See Ecclesiastes 1:9)? But it also works the other way. Will maintaining what we have always done make the church grow any faster? If it "worked" in the past, is it guaranteed to work in the future? And in both cases the positions become entrenched and demanding of their own way. I submit that there is a better way than either of those.

What if God's people earnestly sought God's desire for the local church? Not by looking at the latest Christian book list, but by diligently and fervently praying for God to lead His church. I'm not against gleaning ideas from other places, but every church is unique and what God did through a particular church at a particular place and time and in a particular way, is not necessarily applicable to every church in every place always. Each of us has been called by God. Each of us has been miraculously saved. And each of us has access before the throne of grace. So let's approach the throne of grace with boldness and ask God to do what Jesus promised He would do. Namely: BUILD THE CHURCH.