We’ve just come back from this year’s Vineyard Churches National Leaders’ Conference (try saying that when you’ve been up all night with a toddler with a temperature!) I have to say at this point that I actually enjoyed a fair bit of it and was glad that I went. Gordon Fee was great! I particularly enjoyed him pointing out that “there is no place for tithing in Christianity” and that the only “rule” should be generosity. I also liked him laying into us about the narrowness of our songs with a bit too much of an emphasis on “I want this from God”. There was something satisfying about it, especially after Stuart Murray had essentially said the same things three years ago. Sounds to me like we should avoid outside speakers!
Anyway, it is great to hear all the stuff going on in other churches and the stuff that God is doing but it is very easy to come back feeling that everyone else is doing it really well except you! Everyone else’s church is growing more; everyone else is seeing people coming to Jesus so much more; everyone else is seeing so many more people healed. Maybe they all are.
The thing that struck me, though, is that we are a group of struggling, failing believers, struggling and periodically failing at believing, but pushing on because we love Jesus. We are just doing the best that we can. We are just trying to do the right things and honestly trying to be in obedience in how we are church. In the light of that how come we allow ourselves to think that because all these things are happening to others, that we have got it wrong.
We are just one part of one part of the body. There is something far bigger at stake here. There is a big story that we are part of. Why is it easier to compete with each other than to co-work? Perhaps it is just me (which is a real possibility).
I really want to hear the stories of God’s working within all the great churches in our city or the other churches in our particular flavoured family and genuinely be excited and encouraged and not feel threatened. This is not Liverpool vs. Man Utd! This is the kingdom of God. This is the transformation of the world. This is the goodies beating the baddies.
Someone once said, “it is not enough for us to succeed but others must fail”! Actually, I said that after Liverpool and Chelski were knocked out of the champion’s league, but someone else may have said it first about something else! This whole church thing should be the opposite. It is not enough for us to succeed others must succeed as well!
So, I’m going to try to have that attitude now!
0 Comments