What is Essential

I recently was asked to renew the small groups in our church congregation.  Our small groups were started back in 2005/2006.  Simply put, they were planted, given very little initial direction, and then left to fend for themselves.  Some have done well, others have waxed and waned, some have withered altogether.  It was time to step up and provide some direction to reorient the groups to the same general direction, to review the spiritual foundation of the groups, and to empower them to really do the work entrusted to them.  That is a long introduction to a very simple concept that formed the heart of what I tried to put into the training.  The whole purpose of the small groups, indeed the church as a whole, is not to make sure that we are well founded in doctrine, knowing what we believe, being able to defend it, cataloging and indexing it for ready use.  It is also not to make sure that we live or behave a certain way, that we do some things consistently and avoid other things altogether.  Right belief and right praxis do not create the type of living fellowship that the human soul earnestly seeks for.    But Jesus does.  And that is the point I tried to get across.  As the old hymn encourages, "tell me the old, old story, of Jesus and His love."  Who is this Jesus, what did He do, what did He say, what example did He leave behind, what was He like.  Too much of our preaching is from the Old Testament law, or from the New Testament doctrinal epistles, too little from the gospels.  The call of the disciple has never been to clean up your act, or to learn this tome of dogma; it has always been, and will remain the call to follow Jesus.  Enough said, time to stop talking about it, time to do it.

Re-Vision

I love the dictionary, it is so circular at times.  I was recently thinking of the word revision and what it means.  The dictionary, in its perfectly obtuse way, told me that revision was the act of revising.  Needless to say I finally found the formal meaning buried layers deep in my search through noun and verb forms.  To revise means to "look over again to correct or improve; to make a new, amended, improved, or up-to-date version."  Now where this all started out at was my thinking about spiritual vision, and the need occassionally to revisit vision, or to re-vision.  The notion that "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" is not the type of direction the church or I need in this time and age.  In the Old Testament the cloud and glory of God dwelt in the camp of Israel as they came out of Egypt.  It was an awesome wonder, a place of revelation, of glory, of spiritual visioning, a people being formed by the hand of God.  But in a day, a week, the cloud moved on and so did the camp.  To stay in the old place would be to remain in the wilderness and never enter into the promise.  God moves and our task is to track that movement and be present.  Too many of our congregations remain stationary in past encampments.

A lot of churches have written visions, those spiritual blueprints that try to say where a congregation believes it should be a year out, five years out, ten or more years out.  The problem with any attempt to develop a vision "cast in concrete" is that it is based on a present understanding that may be outdated in a year or five years.  The Spirit of God moves where He wills, we can't see where He originates, we can't see where He is going, we only feel Him passing in the present.  Too many church visions are concerned with building up the church.  But there is a big difference between "building up the church" and "being built up as a spiritual temple".  One is our idea of what needs to be done, the other is the exclusive movement and action of the Spirit of God.  I remember reading something about the kingdom of God, and the author said something to this effect; there is no reference in the scriptures to building up the kingdom of God, we are only called to receive it, to enter into it.  We do "church" very well, we've had years to perfect our organizations.  But I wonder if it is not time to "re-vision", to lay aside what we think we should be about and start looking again for where the Spirit of God is moving.  To borrow the words of Revelation, let the one with ears hear what the Spirit says to the churches, in this time, in this location.  God moves, it's time to get in step with Him..