We’ve
been talking a lot lately about how our
church is doing. Many of us feel
anxiety, and perhaps even despair, when we look at some of the troubling trends
in our congregation. But there is only
one way to have a healthy church.
Quit worrying about it.
None
of us can create or sustain a healthy church.
Only the Holy Spirit can do that.
He is the one who calls a church into existence, gathers people into it,
and shapes them into a community that builds the kingdom of God. Let God do his work. If Old Union truly is his church, he’ll be at
work in it. He will build it and fill it
with life. But if the Spirit doesn’t do
it, there’s nothing any of us could ever do to make up for it. All we could do on our own is make a cheap
human imitation of what church is supposed to be. I don’t know about you, but I have no desire
to be part of a pretend church. Either
God fills it and empowers it, or it’s not worth having.
So what
should we do? After all, we can’t just
sit on our hands and wait for God to act, can we? To be honest, sometimes that’s the best thing
we can do. There have been too many
times in my life when I was convinced I knew what the best path was. All I ended up doing was getting in the way
of God’s plans. However, there are a few
things that each of us can do to be part of the Lord’s work in our church.
1.
Quit worrying about how well or poorly the church is doing. Trust God to take care of it. He’s been at work in Old Union for more than
200 years, at times that were much more dire than this. To paraphrase Jesus in the Sermon on the
Mount, who of us by worrying can add a single spark to our church?
2.
Pray. First, pray for yourself. A healthy church is a community of
disciples. The spirit of a church is
only as strong as the spirit of its members.
Are you a disciple: a student and follower of Jesus Christ? If so, what are you doing to develop your
relationship with him? How are you
deepening your commitment, growing in your knowledge, taking the risks that God
has put in front of you.? Second, pray
for our church. I don’t mean “Pray that
God will be at work in the church.” He
already is. And I don’t mean “Pray for
our church to grow.” That’s up to God. I mean “Pray that Old Union will pay
attention to God and will get with his program.”
3.
Find and follow our purpose. God created
Old Union for a reason. It is not to gather for an hour of worship once a
week and make sure we can pay the bills to have our Sunday morning
gathering. Sunday worship is essential
and critical. But our church’s purpose
grows out from that worship. What does
God want us to do? Why did he create our
church? The reason for being a church
isn’t about the building, the pastor, the budget, the next church program or
function. These are things to help the
church pursue its purpose, but they are not the goal God has placed before
us. Then, once you figure out what God
wants from us as a church, do it. Get
on board with what the Lord is already doing.
When we do that, there’s no stopping us.
