‘David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship, to help me, then my heart will be knit to you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, though my hands have done no wrong, then may the God of our ancestors see and give judgement.”’ 1 Chronicles 12:17
I say occasionally that if you can’t bear to mark your Bible with underlines or comments then you need to get another Bible just for making a mess in! A trip through my Bibles over the years is a journey full of clues about this particular pilgrim’s progress. I was struck by the opening couple of lines of David and they earned yet another underline in my Bible.
‘David went out to meet them’ As a local church leader, this seems to me to be a fairly obvious comment; but increasingly I am becoming aware that it is not nearly so obvious to many others. I am occasionally accused of being an idealist and I always take this is a compliment, even though most of the time it is meant as a put down. I have this theory that the church could do with a few more idealists.
A regular comment that I receive from church ‘experts’ now that we have moved into the factory estate, is that we need to do something about our visibility. Now, I agree with them but not for the same reasons. Many experts still live in the 1950’s when people actually might be looking for a church building to worship at. Visibility today means something else.
We have to be visible. We, the church, need to be the best advert for Jesus in town at all times and in all places. Years ago a church building with tower and steeple were the biggest buildings in town where nowadays even the great city cathedrals are swamped by the modern day places of worship – corporate towers and shopping centres. But that’s fine because I have another theory that Jesus never dreamt of a church being defined by towering steeples and uncomfortable pews.
Our biggest challenge as a local congregation is not better signage (I hate that word!) but better visibility and the two are not the same.
‘If you have come to me in friendship, to help me, then my heart will be knit to you..’ The upcoming Jesus All About Life campaign asks a question something like – ‘How come I have lots of friends but no friendships? Real friendship is a very risky engagement and I use the word engagement deliberately, as David used the term ‘my heart will be knit to you’.
To grow a new church today is less about buildings and more about connections. It is less about the style of music and more about the depth of love. To grow a new church today is less about a greater understanding of the Scriptures and more about a greater understanding of the one who is called the Word of God – Jesus. To grow a new church we have to follow the one who says ‘I will make you fishers of people’, and I just about guarantee you that Jesus will not lead you anywhere near a church building on that mission.
‘but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, though my hands have done no wrong, then may the God of our ancestors see and give judgement.’ With this level of openness we will risk moments of loss and betrayal. The ones who love most are the ones who have the most to lose and the ones most open to be hurt. Many choose not engage because of previous hurt and that is easy to understand. I believe that the call of the church is to ‘Go’ as Christ calls us to and trust God for the outcomes. I know, too simplistic; guilty as charged.
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