Evotional.com - Mark Batterson

Acts 13:2 says, "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting" the Holy Spirit appointed Paul and Barnabas as missionaries. This is a turning point for the church. They could have become comfortable. They could have become what I call a "centripetal" church. The word "centripetal" means: tending toward centralization. Every church must resist the tendency to become ingrown and exist for itself. By the way, every person must resist that too! But the Holy Spirit didn't allow them to sit back. The Holy Spirit is a centrifugal force! He called them to open new markets for the gospel. That is what God has called us to. If I had to describe my desire for NCC in a nutshell it might boil down to this: I want us to remain a movement. That is what I see in the book of Acts. The church was called "the Way." It was a movement. It's not called the Book of Thoughts or the Book of Structures. It's called the Book of Acts. I think it was the lack of bureaucracy that enabled the church to grow so big so fast. Sure, they faced issues because they didn't have any policies in place. That is what the Jerusalem Council was for in Acts 15. But they remained a movement. I never want NCC to become an "institution."

I think we've created a culture where we'll continue to experiment with new things. And I think a multi-site model doesn't allow us to sit back and relax. We're continually thinking about new markets. They go by different names. Our Iconium is NW DC. Our Lystra is Alexandria, VA. Our Syria is College Park, MD. As long as we're worshipping and fasting I don't think we'll become a centripetal church. I never want to become satisfied. There are always new markets to be opened.