Who You're Not
In John 1, an entourage of religious investigators come to ask John the Baptist who he is. That question sets up a fascinating response. It's a glimpse into John's self-image--who he saw when he looked in the mirror. The first thing John does is tell them who he is not. He said, "I am not the Christ." You can try to be all things to all people or you can know who you're not so you can be who you are.
One of the challenges that all of us face, but especially those in ministry, is this: trying to be who you're not. I fall back on the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln all the time. "You can please all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time."
No church is perfectly balanaced. But maybe that is by design rather than default. We are myopic--we think the world revolves around our churches. But maybe God doesn't see each local church as its own entity. I'm not saying that each church doesn't need it's own vision and identity. It does. But maybe churches should complement each other and together comprise the whole, the kingdom. Some churches are stronger at evangelism. Others are stronger at discipleship. While still others are somewhere in between.
All of that is to say this: we can't be and we aren't meant to be all things to all people. I believe that the epicenter of God's calling for NCC is this--to be a church for the unchurched by doing church in the middle of the marketplace. That doesn't mean we don't want great worship, solid teaching, intense discipleship, and intimate fellowship. I think all of those things are part of being a church for the unchurched. But what drives us is the person who needs to come or come back to Christ.
Last Sunday I met someone after the service who told me that they had checked out of church, but they got one of our postcards and decided to check us out. Long story short. They bought a Bible last week and they are beginning a spiritual journey. That's what lights my fire! That's what we're about.
Don't take this out of context, but maybe some churches need to be a little more imbalanced and play the role God has for them in the kingdom.
Know who you're not.
One of the challenges that all of us face, but especially those in ministry, is this: trying to be who you're not. I fall back on the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln all the time. "You can please all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time."
No church is perfectly balanaced. But maybe that is by design rather than default. We are myopic--we think the world revolves around our churches. But maybe God doesn't see each local church as its own entity. I'm not saying that each church doesn't need it's own vision and identity. It does. But maybe churches should complement each other and together comprise the whole, the kingdom. Some churches are stronger at evangelism. Others are stronger at discipleship. While still others are somewhere in between.
All of that is to say this: we can't be and we aren't meant to be all things to all people. I believe that the epicenter of God's calling for NCC is this--to be a church for the unchurched by doing church in the middle of the marketplace. That doesn't mean we don't want great worship, solid teaching, intense discipleship, and intimate fellowship. I think all of those things are part of being a church for the unchurched. But what drives us is the person who needs to come or come back to Christ.
Last Sunday I met someone after the service who told me that they had checked out of church, but they got one of our postcards and decided to check us out. Long story short. They bought a Bible last week and they are beginning a spiritual journey. That's what lights my fire! That's what we're about.
Don't take this out of context, but maybe some churches need to be a little more imbalanced and play the role God has for them in the kingdom.
Know who you're not.
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