Unity of Purpose
The other day I received an email from my former administrative assistant at Bayshore Baptist Church. She told me that a man in the church had died of a massive heart attack. I was sad to hear the news, because of his wife and children. When I mentioned it to Chris, she reminded me that he had left the church when we told him that we would not allow his children to ride their go-carts in the church parking lot, because of safety concerns with cars coming in and out. He flatly told me that he would not go to a church that would not let him do things like that. His decision made me sad, but I felt that we had to do the right thing, not just try to make everyone happy.
There are thousands of decisions to be made in a church all of the time. In every case the decision has the potential to make someone upset because of personal preferences. The only solution is a common purpose. That produces a supernatural unity. Therefore, what is the purpose of the church? To the best of my knowledge and experience I have to say that the Great Commission is our basic purpose statement. The church is a group of believers given the task of making disciples of all people groups. The decisions we make need to be in line with that purpose, or we will defeat that purpose. If we ever make decisions based on what "I" want, we will not minister to those who need Christ. We must ask ourselves what does "He" want. Like Max Lucado said in his book, "it is not about us."
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 43-45 and Matthew 12:24-50.
There are thousands of decisions to be made in a church all of the time. In every case the decision has the potential to make someone upset because of personal preferences. The only solution is a common purpose. That produces a supernatural unity. Therefore, what is the purpose of the church? To the best of my knowledge and experience I have to say that the Great Commission is our basic purpose statement. The church is a group of believers given the task of making disciples of all people groups. The decisions we make need to be in line with that purpose, or we will defeat that purpose. If we ever make decisions based on what "I" want, we will not minister to those who need Christ. We must ask ourselves what does "He" want. Like Max Lucado said in his book, "it is not about us."
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 43-45 and Matthew 12:24-50.