The Mosaic That Makes God Visible

So I know I said I would blog about the CT conference-but I just can't get away from this idea of the church and what we are called to be. For so many years I was in the church. Then I was wrecked by the church and I had to leave. I felt angry and betrayed. Eventually I realized that my fierce anger and resentment came from the answer I didn't want to face: I was alone and isolated. The church of Acts didn't exist. There was no "Ekklesia". There was no one to build me up or for me to build up. No spiritual exchange. No one close enough to have the courage to lovingly rebuke and hold me accountable when I needed it most.

Then Jesus stepped in and and He has begun to revolutionize the church. No longer does it look like it used to look. No longer does it sound the way it used to sound. It's a slow process, but people are learning to not only trust one another, but learning to be trustworthy. The kinds of people you can safely share things with without fear of them calling someone else to gossip..er...I mean..uhh..."pray".

This will change. This is changing. It must change. There is no alternative. Those that are changing are choosing life. Those that refuse to change are choosing death. Freedom and joy and life is being released. Our commonality is becoming Jesus. He is our only tie. He must be our only connection. The day of your ministry and my ministry is over. The days of denominations are over. The days of programs and ideals and methods and styles is over. We don't need another kind of program. We don't need another kind of service. We don't need another gimmick or the latest trick. We don't need to be relevant. We need Jesus. Nothing else matters. Together we must seek Jesus.

The Book says "If you lift Me(Jesus) up, I will draw all men unto me.". The problems with our churches are very simple. Our programs don't work because we're lifting something up other than Jesus-or lifting something up along with Jesus. When Jesus shows up, the building will be filed beyond capacity without our doing a thing. History has proved that time and time again. Either the Book is truth or it isn't.

Saving the lost is not our calling. Somewhere along the line we reversed the first two commandments and called it truth. We are to love Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. That is our mission, that is our goal. When we are rooted and grounded in love, confident of who we are in Him, ministry comes automatically. It comes without guile and deceit and ulterior motive. It flows from a heart of truth and light, and not from a mind of darkness, fantasy, suspicion, and conspiracy.

Yet I digress. I encourage us to continue in the direction we are going! We're on our way! The heart of the Father is calling and we are answering!

Again I want to quote Henri J M Nouwen: With the section of his book entitled the same and this post. It again has to do with community and prayer:

"Community is like a large mosaic. Each little piece seems so insignificant. One piece bright red, another cold blue or dull green, another warm purple, another sharp yellow, another shining gold. Some look precious others ordinary. Some look valuble others worthless. Some look gaudy, others delicate.

As individual stones, we can do little with them except compare them and judge their beauty and value. when, however, all these little stones are brought together in one big mosaic portraying the face of Christ, who would ever question the importance of any one of them? If one of them, even the least spectacular one, is missing, the face is incomplete. Together in the one mosaic, each little stone is indispensable and makes a unique contribution to the glory of God.

That's community, a fellowship of little people who together make God visible in the world."

The church has spent so much time comparing stones. Pastors and worship leaders comparing their treasures, congregation members comparing their beauty and talent against one another, ministries secretly-or not so secretly-competing and comparing their gold and silver. Prophets one-upping each other, Apostles claiming ownership or originality of different "streams", and on and on it goes. The time of this has come to and end. The time of Jesus is once again here.

Let's come together and support one another without fear and rivalry. You need me and I need you. We can't do it alone.

The next time you gather together with your brothers and sisters, think of the mosaic.