As I've been perusing the thoughts of what it means to be inclusive this week, I think that there is an underlying thought that we need to examine a bit to guide us in this. We often will talk about the church we attend as "our" church. We hope and pray that God will grow "our" church. When we invite others to walk along with us, to grow in knowing what God has done in Jesus, it's typically with the hopes that they will join "our" church and that "our" church will grow.
You may have noticed that there are a lot of quotes in that paragraph around the word "our". That is intentional. While using "our" helps us to differentiate between the church we attend and the one down the street, an unintended side effect of this is that we start to think of it as "our" church. But there is a big reality that we may know, but can sometimes forget. The church is God's.
So what does that mean? Do we throw out the word "ours" completely? Well, perhaps not. But one thing we do need to change is how we view God's work in the church that we happen to be part of. It doesn't belong to us. It belongs to God in Christ Jesus. That means that God is going to do with this church what He will. Yes, you and I play some vital part in what happens with it, but the truth behind that is that God is going to do with it what He designs and wills.
That's why I would suggest something a little bit different than how we typically think. When we ask God to grow the church, let's ask Him to grow the full number of those who belong to Him in Jesus. That may or may not include people coming to our local gathering. But guess what? That doesn't matter. That's in God's hands. Sure, we can hope that He will send them our way, and He likely will. But our focus is to be on the bigger kingdom and to trust that God will do with our local gathering what He will.
That doesn't mean that we stop planning programs, or growing in how we can draw people to God in our particular gathering. But as we do that, we keep our eyes open to the eternal kingdom, knowing that God is going to care for us. It may not be what we want, or what we hope, but if our eyes are focused on the right thing, then we may just discover that God can do far more than we could ever do if our eyes were fixed on too small a thing, such as "our" church!
You may have noticed that there are a lot of quotes in that paragraph around the word "our". That is intentional. While using "our" helps us to differentiate between the church we attend and the one down the street, an unintended side effect of this is that we start to think of it as "our" church. But there is a big reality that we may know, but can sometimes forget. The church is God's.
So what does that mean? Do we throw out the word "ours" completely? Well, perhaps not. But one thing we do need to change is how we view God's work in the church that we happen to be part of. It doesn't belong to us. It belongs to God in Christ Jesus. That means that God is going to do with this church what He will. Yes, you and I play some vital part in what happens with it, but the truth behind that is that God is going to do with it what He designs and wills.
That's why I would suggest something a little bit different than how we typically think. When we ask God to grow the church, let's ask Him to grow the full number of those who belong to Him in Jesus. That may or may not include people coming to our local gathering. But guess what? That doesn't matter. That's in God's hands. Sure, we can hope that He will send them our way, and He likely will. But our focus is to be on the bigger kingdom and to trust that God will do with our local gathering what He will.
That doesn't mean that we stop planning programs, or growing in how we can draw people to God in our particular gathering. But as we do that, we keep our eyes open to the eternal kingdom, knowing that God is going to care for us. It may not be what we want, or what we hope, but if our eyes are focused on the right thing, then we may just discover that God can do far more than we could ever do if our eyes were fixed on too small a thing, such as "our" church!
Sorry....but I think you are making a mountain out of a mole hill. It is ok to think of the church we attend as "our church. It is an affectionate and friendly way in which we regard our fellow church members, and yes.....we love all of God's people, support missions, and do not consider ourselves an exclusive club for the certain few. I think you need to chill out. Don't take everything so seriously.
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