I mentioned in church this past Sunday that "playing at" being the church wrecks me. By that I meant that going through the motions as the church, or losing focus on what the church is, just slays me. God's call to be the church too often has been seen as a call to institutional survival. When the Holy Spirit made the church on that first Pentecost, it had nothing to do with buildings, offices, newsletters, elections, canons and constitutions, or bureaucratic posturing. The church was being called into existence, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to be a place of transformation, where people could come and be changed. The church was to be a place of witness, the very witness of God. People were (and are) called into the church to become disciples, where others could watch how these disciples lived and learn that God's love is real and available. When the church loses this original mandate, it becomes a lot of things, but it doesn't become the mystical body it is called to be.
At COTHA, we are being called to be the radical place of God's presence that we read in the 2nd chapter of Acts. Don't let the word "radical" scare you. All things of God, are by their very nature "radical." Radical change where despair is replaced by hope, love replaces hatred, joy overcomes estrangement, is a good change. Too often the church settles for something less. But I keep sensing God's call to step out of those old and tired modes and recapture the essence and excitement of that Church of Pentecost.
The summer is around the corner. In the old church, this meant vacation time. Not for us, not now. God's call for us to reach out with His love has never been clearer. Summer is a time for barbecues, trips to the ocean or mountains, baseball and lemonade, but it is also a time to recommit ourselves to bringing more people into the kingdom. I have a feeling that there are some people out there that just might consider coming to a cool, airconditioned building at least once this summer... all that is standing between them and that happening is an invitation. Look around your neighborhood; look around the office. I challenge you to invite one person per week all summer. The worse thing that could happen is for each person to turn you down. But you won't know until you ask.
What I promise you is this: I'll continue to be wrecked so that we don't ever "go through the motions." I know that there are many people at COTHA who feel the same way I do. Let's never grow satisfied about where we are.... let's keep pushing to be that mystical place that God intended from the beginning. Even if it's summer!
At COTHA, we are being called to be the radical place of God's presence that we read in the 2nd chapter of Acts. Don't let the word "radical" scare you. All things of God, are by their very nature "radical." Radical change where despair is replaced by hope, love replaces hatred, joy overcomes estrangement, is a good change. Too often the church settles for something less. But I keep sensing God's call to step out of those old and tired modes and recapture the essence and excitement of that Church of Pentecost.
The summer is around the corner. In the old church, this meant vacation time. Not for us, not now. God's call for us to reach out with His love has never been clearer. Summer is a time for barbecues, trips to the ocean or mountains, baseball and lemonade, but it is also a time to recommit ourselves to bringing more people into the kingdom. I have a feeling that there are some people out there that just might consider coming to a cool, airconditioned building at least once this summer... all that is standing between them and that happening is an invitation. Look around your neighborhood; look around the office. I challenge you to invite one person per week all summer. The worse thing that could happen is for each person to turn you down. But you won't know until you ask.
What I promise you is this: I'll continue to be wrecked so that we don't ever "go through the motions." I know that there are many people at COTHA who feel the same way I do. Let's never grow satisfied about where we are.... let's keep pushing to be that mystical place that God intended from the beginning. Even if it's summer!
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