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Brush off the Rust and Dust Matthew 21:18-22 This is a truly unusual scripture to use regarding church gatherings. However, if we look at the scripture from a certain perspective, then a harsh warning is staring us straight in the face. It shows us the importance of what we are doing when ‘church’ gathers corporately. Jesus was on a journey and was hungry. He needed ‘refreshments’ in order to continue. He discovered that the tree didn’t produce any fruit, didn’t quench His hunger and didn’t demonstrate the reason that it was on the earth for. The Bible then tells us that He cursed the tree. The curse was that it would never bear fruit again. ...do not neglect gathering together but spur one another on to love and good deeds... [Heb 10:24] |  |
When God’s people gather, they gather because they are on a journey – life. They gather because they are hungry for God and they gather because they need refreshing. The warning if we don’t provide refreshment for God's people on their journey of life, is frightening! In 2007 Becky and I, with our two boys, moved to Stoke-on-Trent. What an absolutely awesome privilege! This is my home city and I am so pleased to be back. The church that we are leading, Bethel City Church, in the last 18 months has undergone a major cultural revolution and experienced phenomenal growth. Many people ask why or how and I believe that it is because we listened to what Jesus said when He described the building process. Luke 14:28 shows that the building process involves intention. Much of church activity kind of just happens, but here are five pointers that we use here at BCC to ensure that we are intentional in all that we do. Whether you are building great youth ministries, churches or conferences, these five directives will keep you intentional: Purpose Driven – I know we have all probably read the book and know the principles but the reality is that much of what we do in church has no reason. Think about it. Ask the question, 'Why?' Why do we do all the stuff that most of us really find boring? How about we find the reason and stick to it? If there is no reason for it to be there, then there is no reason for it to be there! How about we give our gatherings, church and youth meetings real purpose? We have found that most stuff can be removed from the schedule because we only do it because previous generations have done it. It's like the little girl who asked her mum one Christmas why she cut the sides off the turkey before it went in the oven. Her mother simply replied, ‘Because Mum did it’. The girl thought about this and then asked Gran the same question, to which Gran replied, ‘Because Mum did it.’ After even much more thought, as they were sat around Christmas dinner, the little girl turned to Great Gran and politely asked, ‘Great Gran, why did you cut the sides off the turkey before placing it in the oven to roast?’ Great Gran pondered and answered, ‘My dear child, our ovens were small back then so it was the only way the turkey would fit in, why they do it now I have no idea. Have you seen the size of the ovens nowadays?’ Discover the reason, the purpose and then stick to it. People Orientated – Jesus died for people. He gave his life for people. God’s will is for people. His passion is for people. If we are to learn from this we have to make sure, whatever the context or setting, that all that we do is for people. When people come to the House of God, they may have had a tremendously difficult week. We have to make sure they get the very best welcome and know that this is a place where they are loved and appreciated. It would be good if connected people could understand what is actually happening. Try and not complicate things by wrapping it all in 'religiosity'. Make it a priority to ensure everyone feels as though they are they most important person on the planet; that they are loved and that they are most welcome. Passion Filled – Passion fills stadiums. Passion fills theatres. Passion even fills shopping malls. Sometimes the question of why churches are emptying at such a phenomenal rate can be answered simply by observing the lack of passion. Without passion marriages are empty. Without passion football matches are boring. Without passion our churches lack. Jesus was passionate. Church should be passionate, energetic, exuberant and exciting. Pace Setting – Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:23 that ‘The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.’ [TM] Much of our desperation to be relevant in society causes us to copy the activity of the world. We miss the point and opportunity to influence when we copy. I believe that Church is designed to be in front, pace-setting and innovative. We don’t need to copy the world, we need to realise our God-given design and creative genius and operate in such a way that the world looks at the Church and thinks, ‘WOW, we should do that’. Allow the Spirit of God to birth new and fresh ways of communication. Don’t focus on the TV, get a grip on the Bible and see how God can work through you the creative genius that makes the Genesis story so amazing. Begin to believe in yourself as much as God believes in you. Begin to get excited about the fact that God uses even a donkey to speak so He can most definitely use you! Finally, Plan Correctly – God is a God of order. When you look at God’s first operation in Genesis we see Him begin to bring order. God doesn’t do things in a shabby way. He does them in the most excellent way. God only gives His best for us. Jesus wasn’t a second thought. Jesus was God's ‘Plan A’. God doesn’t do things by half, God always excels! When we look at church activity, sometimes it is hard to see that we are His people. How about we try and reflect our God so that people don’t find it too difficult to imagine a perfect God loving them and wanting a relationship with them? Think about some of the following: The way you prepare your musicians; the way the meeting is scheduled, how the building that you are meeting in looks, the way you dress, the standard of the refreshments, the way the venue is laid out and even the smile on people's faces as they welcome people into the House of God. |  |
I believe that there is no way that God would want us to be disorganised, shabby and half-hearted in our approach to church. He demands our best. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, ‘Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.’ [NIV] Luke 14 leads us to understand that if we are to build properly we are directed to build intentionally. You don’t have to just let church happen, you can be intentional and make church happen. Scripture says that ‘Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted’. [Ps 127:1 NLT] Our efforts are wasted if we don’t fit into His schedule and His way of building and we know that God builds with intention. He intends His church to be the beautiful Bride of Christ. Let’s build accordingly and intentionally.
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