January 2007
"This is a sacred trust - never treat it as common." This resounding thought was deeply engraved into my heart by the Spirit of God in 1997. This incredible moment of conviction began to pave the way for who I am today.
I have come to believe over the years that our over emphasis on the “wineskin” (model, technique, program, etc.) at the expense of the “wine” (content of Christ in our lives) or at least diluting it, has been costly for the Church in North America. Mind you, I am not suggesting that models, techniques, programs, etc. are bad. They are not.
I am reminded of Uzzah who attempted to steady the Ark of the Covenant from falling off the cart (2 Samuel 6:4-7) just after the oxen had stumbled. He did what any one of us would have done. I believe Uzzah like many of us are well intentioned when we seek to help God out in this enterprise called Church. Particularly when it would appear the Church is stumbling and needs a creative touch from us to stabilize it. It was Dr. Jack Hayford who said that we have church down so well that the Holy Spirit could depart from our services and we would not know it for three years.
The problem I face in ministry is not that I don't know what to do. My problem like so many leaders is that I do know what to do and like Uzzah can find myself touching the holy thing, helping God out when I don't need to. This article won’t resolve the issue of what we touch and what we do not, but will help facilitate an on going dialogue with each other and hopefully an ongoing dialogue with God.
Jesus told us “God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them” (Matthew 5:3, NLT). Wow, what a verse and what a promise. If I live a lifestyle of need, then the Kingdom of Heaven is given to me.
Our progressive inability to reach our culture has thousands of pastors back to a place of recognizing our need for Him - an absolute desperation is beginning to arise motivated by many factors but the need is rising. Because of this need, pastors and leaders are returning to a dialogue with God (prayer) and His Word for what to do next. We are, in effect, not touching the Ark and letting it be, as we trust that God might stabilize it Himself. Now, if I read my Bible right it says that good things tend to happen when people seek God, look to His Word and lean on the Holy Spirit. These are the ingredients of revolution.
I am encouraged by our spiritual landscape in North America. There are pastors by the thousands asking questions about effectiveness, why we are not reaching our culture, and what is the Church (maybe this is the question).
A revolution, like the revolution that sparked Pentecost in the Book of Acts, can only begin when people are broken enough to obey and pray. Maybe this is the beginning of the revolution that we return to being sons and daughters of God before we are pastors and leaders.
May we, like the followers of Christ in the Book of Acts, wait on Jesus as we look to see what the Father is doing in our neighborhoods, cities, states, etc. May we find the revolution so captivating that our lives are lived around the reality of this Kingdom where we love God with all of our heart, love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and make disciples as we live life.
We have been given a sacred trust and no matter how relevant or cool our ministries might be we have one thing the world can never give. We have Jesus. May you live Jesus, and from this life may the revolution grow.
Here are some questions for you to ponder in your dialogue with God.
- In what ways do you struggle with helping God out? Helping stabilize the Ark if you will?
- How has God facilitated a sense of need and desperation in you this past year?
- How has dialogue with others and God increased this past year?
- What do you see the Father doing in your home? Church? City? State? Nation?
- What are you willing to endure to see this revolution come to pass?
No comments:
Post a Comment