This weekend a very dear friend of mine challenged me.
There are a group of churches in a geographical region who are lacking in numbers. Meanwhile other churches have more numbers and could certainly do with giving some of their members the opportunity to serve elsewhere. My genius idea was to offer the opportunity to serve from the larger churches in the smaller churches. Everyone’s a winner – the small church gets support and fresh faces, the larger churchs get to see more of their members being active, the leaders enable and empower individuals, and the people who are serving learn and grow and develop.
Great idea. It still is a great idea.
Yet my friend challenged me. The challenge was this – isn’t the idea a little like tinkering when the Titanic is sinking. That is to say, the idea works well to support the maintaining system. What if there is something wrong with the entire system.
Something that I can understand with those who walk away from more traditional and institutional models of church is that some come across as well maintained edifices with little in the way of real … fruitfulness. The system is in place, the functions rarely change, programs are active, but there’s little in the way of genuine, real fruitfulness. Fruitful in character, fruitful in fellowship and fruitful in developing and utilising the opportunities to make disciples.
There is an argument that says it’s not really about the systems and the functions – it’s more about the people who wish to maintain the status quo.
Whatever the truth is, it does bug me that we are sometimes slow on the uptake of seeing the outcome, but never addressing what can be done to change it. Slow on the uptake, that perhaps if we want to see an outcome more in fitting with God’s desire for us, we prayerfully and actively pursue the best way to go about it. If the way we’re doing it is not working – then we need to be brave enough to change – in line with how God’s Spirit leads us.
And I do mean us, for if we are to be lead, we have to appreciate that the leading can come from any minister in the Body – and if ever believer is a minister, there’s an exciting opportunity to open our hearts and ears to each other to share what God is saying.
Could that be chaotic? Yep. Could it get ugly? Potentially. Could there be misunderstanding? Sure. Could people’s feelings get hurt? That’s certainly a possibility. Is it a very risky venture? Definitely.
Good reasons not to do it.
Could it work, God be glorified, people mobilised and inspired to serve? Yes.
Good reason to do it.
The main thing is, to get back to understanding how Jesus put us together to be faithful and fruitful. For His honour and glory, surely that’s got to be worth, putting aside our feelings for the status quo.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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