***
Hey there, friends!
I'm not sure what the weekend forecast is for Y'all... but for us? Well... they are calling it Snow-aggaden and Snow-pocolypse, soooo... Our plans are pretty much to stay put and stay warm and enjoy all the beauty --you know, from INSIDE OUR COZY HOME!
This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer
and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: BUILD
{GO!}
My first thought upon seeing our one-word prompt is this:
"If you build it, he will come."
Right? Who didn't love Field of Dreams back in the day? To be honest and fair... I don't remember much of the movie other than it was well done and stirred up a sense of magic and wonder. (And who couldn't use a dose of those things right about now?)
Still... I promise this is not about an old movie but more about an old dream...
It's an old dream about something new... Something right around the corner... Something that has been brewing and building slowly over time... and I believe it is coming!
I believe it's been a long time coming and there have been steps taken in the right direction, but maybe those took an "If we build it, they will come" approach rather than an "If we build it, HE will come" approach. And even with that, I think we can easily get a little off course. Like I said --we have seen and been a part of starts in the right direction... we have. And we have to start somewhere so every movement towards the New that is on the verge is good and right and powerful.
Here's the thing: In my bones, I believe we, the American/Western church, have been doing church --for lack of a better word, wrong.
I remember years and years (and years and years!) ago, asking the Lord what HE thought was wrong with the Church. (Capital C... not lowercase c!) I mean --we all have our own experiences, loves, and grievances, hurts and healings that have come through individual churches... we do. She is both lovely and lonely at times, right? But always --She is His idea and He is for her!
And listen --we are all human, so chances of all of those things disappearing this side of the veil --even with it being torn-- well, the chances are itty bitty, right? But I prayed one day and asked Jesus what HE thought was wrong with how we do church and immediately, ever so clearly, this is what I heard:
"It's business. It's not personal."
Yeah... you gotta love a God who quotes The Godfather, right?
But this is the heart of where we've gone wrong... and I think it's where all humans go wrong when it comes to organizational church. Yes... we need to build and plan and there must be order and structure and God is not against that. He's for it! He said Himself "I will build My church.."
However, in all our building and planning and ordering... Often times we forget to let Him take the lead... and a slight shift is all it takes to run this whole thing like a business again, and the cry of the heart of God is Family... His desire is that His Church would be, more than anything else, Personal... not Business! and--Man, He's serious!
So while MANY churches --locally and globally-- are doing a great job at shifting the focus and growing a family more than a church membership... We are still prone to take the reins and rush on ahead... We still get preoccupied with numbers and programs and being bigger and better!*
We still have to fight HARD against
Usurping & Competition...
and what we long for is
Unity & Celebration.
What I long for is organic movements, intimate gatherings, and deep individual growth--not because we planned it, orchestrated a buzz, and pushed hard to promote... but because we were willing to make room and make way... to go when He says to go, yes!but also to stay when He says to wait!
{STOP!}
Turning a big ship takes time and I do believe that many have caught this vision of the New that is coming... The "New" that is really old and what I believe was the original hope for the Body. It takes time... and we are gaining (or regaining) ground. We are.
I think the hardest call is to go forward without falling back on the old ways of doing things... without relying on what we've always done or always known or even what we just simply know will work. But the best way to do something New is to be willing to wait... to pray... to take one step at a time, sometimes with a plan intact and sometimes with no knowledge of where our feet will land next!
I think we have tried the "If we build it, they will come!" approach... and many are doing the "If we build it, HE will come!" approach, too!
But in Matthew 16:18, Jesus said HE would build it... and He also said He will draw all men... now, of course, --you guys!-- we know HE builds it through us, right? He partners with us! We are called to be His representatives and to be His hands and feet!
But here's something else I know:
Jesus was never in a hurry!
Before putting action to His hands and feet or letting Words spill forth from His mouth-- He quieted and stilled Himself and let Words pour out from His heart!
The cry of our heart for the Church is that, truly, we will remember that He said that HE will do the building. HE will build His church. And it does us good to remember that when He uses that word, most often it is 'Ekklesia' and that doesn't mean 'church' the way we, in America, think of church.
That verse in Matthew reads like this in The Passion Translation:
"And this truth of who I am will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly, and the power of death will not be able to overpower it! I will give you the keys of heaven’s kingdom realm to forbid on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release on earth that which is released in heaven." ~Matt 16:18-19
So here's the deal: For at least three years, Jesus built His church, His 'legislative assembly' --which was different than Temple or other religious events. That word ekklesia again was more geared toward the political and governmental arenas of the day... so He spent three years in ministry out and among people... traveling around and addressing the issues of the day... you know, just being Jesus and loving people! He said He would build His church... and the power of death (His own!) would not be able to stop it or overpower it! He died and resurrected and gave us the keys to the Kingdom... meaning, as The Passion Translation puts it, we have the authority and access to forbid on earth whatever is not allowed in heaven... and to release on earth whatever IS allowed in heaven.
So that is our goal... to follow His lead... and to know and recognize that we are the church --wherever we go... we are called to use those keys and to start looking at what we think IS and IS NOT allowed in heaven!
We've gotten really good at releasing Heaven on Earth. We want what Heaven has and we are grasping the understanding that we have keys that can unlock those things. But we also need to clean house... to take a stand and to bind... to forbid... the things that are not in heaven that have seeped in on the earth... in and out of the church! We need to do both releasing and forbidding!
And in order to do this, Y'all...
We need to know the Word!
I don't know if any of you were able to watch or attend the IF:Gathering this year but it happened in Dallas over the weekend and those women? Yeah... they are women of the Word! You can still watch the sessions for free until Monday night at midnight! You can find it at IF:Gathering2019
Some of my favorite speakers? Jennie Allen, Jada Edwards, Christine Caine, Jo Saxton, Jeff Bethke, Angie Smith, Annie F. Downs, Jill Briscoe, and of course, Bianca Olthoff!
* = This is when my Five Minutes was officially over! Thanks for the Grace, friends, to finish my thought!
Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today. Five Minute Fridays give us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about "BUILD"
The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk about food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second-guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!
Photos courtesy of Unsplash
I'm also linking up with the lovely writer community linked below:
Crystal Twaddell for #FreshMarketFriday
I'm not sure what the weekend forecast is for Y'all... but for us? Well... they are calling it Snow-aggaden and Snow-pocolypse, soooo... Our plans are pretty much to stay put and stay warm and enjoy all the beauty --you know, from INSIDE OUR COZY HOME!
and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: BUILD
My first thought upon seeing our one-word prompt is this:
"If you build it, he will come."
I believe it's been a long time coming and there have been steps taken in the right direction, but maybe those took an "If we build it, they will come" approach rather than an "If we build it, HE will come" approach. And even with that, I think we can easily get a little off course. Like I said --we have seen and been a part of starts in the right direction... we have. And we have to start somewhere so every movement towards the New that is on the verge is good and right and powerful.
Here's the thing: In my bones, I believe we, the American/Western church, have been doing church --for lack of a better word, wrong.
I remember years and years (and years and years!) ago, asking the Lord what HE thought was wrong with the Church. (Capital C... not lowercase c!) I mean --we all have our own experiences, loves, and grievances, hurts and healings that have come through individual churches... we do. She is both lovely and lonely at times, right? But always --She is His idea and He is for her!
And listen --we are all human, so chances of all of those things disappearing this side of the veil --even with it being torn-- well, the chances are itty bitty, right? But I prayed one day and asked Jesus what HE thought was wrong with how we do church and immediately, ever so clearly, this is what I heard:
Here's the thing: In my bones, I believe we, the American/Western church, have been doing church --for lack of a better word, wrong.
I remember years and years (and years and years!) ago, asking the Lord what HE thought was wrong with the Church. (Capital C... not lowercase c!) I mean --we all have our own experiences, loves, and grievances, hurts and healings that have come through individual churches... we do. She is both lovely and lonely at times, right? But always --She is His idea and He is for her!
And listen --we are all human, so chances of all of those things disappearing this side of the veil --even with it being torn-- well, the chances are itty bitty, right? But I prayed one day and asked Jesus what HE thought was wrong with how we do church and immediately, ever so clearly, this is what I heard:
"It's business. It's not personal."
Yeah... you gotta love a God who quotes The Godfather, right?
But this is the heart of where we've gone wrong... and I think it's where all humans go wrong when it comes to organizational church. Yes... we need to build and plan and there must be order and structure and God is not against that. He's for it! He said Himself "I will build My church.."
However, in all our building and planning and ordering... Often times we forget to let Him take the lead... and a slight shift is all it takes to run this whole thing like a business again, and the cry of the heart of God is Family... His desire is that His Church would be, more than anything else, Personal... not Business! and--Man, He's serious!
So while MANY churches --locally and globally-- are doing a great job at shifting the focus and growing a family more than a church membership... We are still prone to take the reins and rush on ahead... We still get preoccupied with numbers and programs and being bigger and better!*
But this is the heart of where we've gone wrong... and I think it's where all humans go wrong when it comes to organizational church. Yes... we need to build and plan and there must be order and structure and God is not against that. He's for it! He said Himself "I will build My church.."
However, in all our building and planning and ordering... Often times we forget to let Him take the lead... and a slight shift is all it takes to run this whole thing like a business again, and the cry of the heart of God is Family... His desire is that His Church would be, more than anything else, Personal... not Business! and--Man, He's serious!
So while MANY churches --locally and globally-- are doing a great job at shifting the focus and growing a family more than a church membership... We are still prone to take the reins and rush on ahead... We still get preoccupied with numbers and programs and being bigger and better!*
We still have to fight HARD against
Usurping & Competition...
and what we long for is
Unity & Celebration.
What I long for is organic movements, intimate gatherings, and deep individual growth--not because we planned it, orchestrated a buzz, and pushed hard to promote... but because we were willing to make room and make way... to go when He says to go, yes!but also to stay when He says to wait!
{STOP!}
I think the hardest call is to go forward without falling back on the old ways of doing things... without relying on what we've always done or always known or even what we just simply know will work. But the best way to do something New is to be willing to wait... to pray... to take one step at a time, sometimes with a plan intact and sometimes with no knowledge of where our feet will land next!
I think we have tried the "If we build it, they will come!" approach... and many are doing the "If we build it, HE will come!" approach, too!
But in Matthew 16:18, Jesus said HE would build it... and He also said He will draw all men... now, of course, --you guys!-- we know HE builds it through us, right? He partners with us! We are called to be His representatives and to be His hands and feet!
But here's something else I know:
Jesus was never in a hurry!
Before putting action to His hands and feet or letting Words spill forth from His mouth-- He quieted and stilled Himself and let Words pour out from His heart!
The cry of our heart for the Church is that, truly, we will remember that He said that HE will do the building. HE will build His church. And it does us good to remember that when He uses that word, most often it is 'Ekklesia' and that doesn't mean 'church' the way we, in America, think of church.
That verse in Matthew reads like this in The Passion Translation:
"And this truth of who I am will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly, and the power of death will not be able to overpower it! I will give you the keys of heaven’s kingdom realm to forbid on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release on earth that which is released in heaven." ~Matt 16:18-19So here's the deal: For at least three years, Jesus built His church, His 'legislative assembly' --which was different than Temple or other religious events. That word ekklesia again was more geared toward the political and governmental arenas of the day... so He spent three years in ministry out and among people... traveling around and addressing the issues of the day... you know, just being Jesus and loving people! He said He would build His church... and the power of death (His own!) would not be able to stop it or overpower it! He died and resurrected and gave us the keys to the Kingdom... meaning, as The Passion Translation puts it, we have the authority and access to forbid on earth whatever is not allowed in heaven... and to release on earth whatever IS allowed in heaven.
So that is our goal... to follow His lead... and to know and recognize that we are the church --wherever we go... we are called to use those keys and to start looking at what we think IS and IS NOT allowed in heaven!
We've gotten really good at releasing Heaven on Earth. We want what Heaven has and we are grasping the understanding that we have keys that can unlock those things. But we also need to clean house... to take a stand and to bind... to forbid... the things that are not in heaven that have seeped in on the earth... in and out of the church! We need to do both releasing and forbidding!
And in order to do this, Y'all...
We need to know the Word!
I don't know if any of you were able to watch or attend the IF:Gathering this year but it happened in Dallas over the weekend and those women? Yeah... they are women of the Word! You can still watch the sessions for free until Monday night at midnight! You can find it at IF:Gathering2019
Some of my favorite speakers? Jennie Allen, Jada Edwards, Christine Caine, Jo Saxton, Jeff Bethke, Angie Smith, Annie F. Downs, Jill Briscoe, and of course, Bianca Olthoff!
Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today. Five Minute Fridays give us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about "BUILD"
The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk about food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second-guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!
Photos courtesy of Unsplash
I'm also linking up with the lovely writer community linked below:
Crystal Twaddell for #FreshMarketFriday
Love the Godfather quote! Thanks so much for sharing. I know I am part of a smaller church and so glad to be in one because it is personal!
ReplyDeleteBut of course, you would quote Field of Dreams!! Are we the same person? :p Loved this post friend. Can't help but think of these words "Here am I, Lord, send me!"
ReplyDelete