It's Why I'm Here

Scott, (our associate pastor) and I were emailing back and forth tonight about something, and I wound up explaining what I feel God is trying to do at New Hope. In a sense, I believe He's trying to do exactly what He did within the first few years after Christ's death - that is, bring all sorts of people of all ages together to worship, fellowship, minister and learn how to follow Jesus together.

What that means is that each person understands that he or she is there to love God with all their heart soul and mind, and to love their neighbor as themselves. It means not necessarily loving "church" as most of us have come to know that term, but loving God through the people who make up a local body of believers. Religion seems to me to keep people and God at a distance. Following Jesus means being in relationship with Him and people - flawed, hurting, sometimes aggravating people. People who make you laugh, people who make you cry. People who you might not choose, but who you could not imagine life without.

Here's the deal. I could "market" New Hope and draw a "target" group. Maybe I choose to get all young people or go geezer - whatever. If you get the right product and market it correctly, you can draw a crowd. All the Purpose Driven, all the church growth folks tell me that's the way to go to grow a church.

I have a problem with it. That is, the NT doesn't show churches like that.

To me, New Hope is a NT church. Young, old, richer, poorer, well educated and not so well schooled. We need cross generational worship, fellowship, ministry and the like. We need young to learn from old and the reverse is also true. It does mean I'll probably not make the cover of the FL Bapt Witness or be interviewed in Leadership Journal.

But it's what I feel God wants me to do.

In years past, I worked hard at doing series', and now I preach through books more often than not. Same thing. I can draw a crowd and keep them entertained, even get them to remember me. I'd rather draw people to Christ and strengthen them in and through His Word. I keep hearing "make disciples". So that's what I do.

Others take a different route. All that matters is that Christ is preached. I'll let God sort it out. This week I'll have to exercise my faith in house hunting, in getting rolling on a music guy, in whether to take some classes this summer, in getting my father through these tests. So fixing the attitudes of some club members will have to wait.

Friends, when it comes right down to it, that's what I pray for - that God would use New Hope to teach people how to love Him and how to love people - like Jesus did.

That's why I'm here, why God has kept me here, and why I pray everyday for New Hope.