Church: Core Task (II)

TROWEL & SWORD

Resources - Leadership

December 2000

SWORD - DEFENDING

Church: Core Task (II)

David Groenenboom

One of the most important questions you can ask in your church is “how does what I am doing advance the work of the Jesus Christ?”

Last month’s column showed that while Jesus’ work of salvation is unique, He calls his people to be part of his ongoing redemptive task in bringing people from darkness to light (Acts 26:18; 1 Pet 2:4-12). In addition to this, there is also the task of building up and discipling the Body of Christ. The calling of leaders in the church is to equip the body so the Body will use their gifts to serve with a view to building up the body. The overall goal in this work is maturity in Christ (Eph 4:10-13).

What we see in these passages is the faith and life cycle of the church. Jesus Christ draws us out of darkness into the marvellous light of the Kingdom. We are called to declare His praises and testify to His work. God’s grace in His Son totally transforms our lives, with our values, attitudes and behaviour becoming aligned with Christ’s Kingdom. This life of witness then calls other people to faith in Christ, they are drawn by his grace into His Body, and they then undergo the same transformation. We could illustrate this cycle with the diagram in Figure 1.

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This certainly makes clear how wonderful the church’s calling is. So, let me ask, Are you clear on what this work is? Is your life focus directed toward bringing people from darkness to light? Are you clear on this and are you doing it?

This question needs to be asked at every level of church life. When elders visit people in their homes, when deacons extend Christian mercy to the needy, when the youth group plans their annual camp, when the minister writes his sermon, when the session meets, when Synods set their budget, when the Classis meets, when the Sunday schools plan their curriculum, when the cell groups seek material to discuss, when the church musicians rehearse, and when the seniors plan their outing.

It is a fact that everything we do requires energy and time (and money, normally). It’s time that as people saved by Christ we start to ask whether our resources – of whatever variety – are being put to best use. The reality is that questions like these only make it onto a minority of Session agendas. And worse: when Synod meets, we spend the bulk of our time talking about in-house issues and exegetical questions that may never be solved, while the planning and prioritising of issues central to the church’s calling is almost jettisoned. In the lead up to the last Synod there were even some who interpreted the desire for these discussions as merely the agendas of those who desire the church to be “top heavy” and “centralised”. Certainly, the local church is the primary focus and context for this work to occur, but attempts to move these discussions off Synodical and Classis agendas is nothing but fudging: unwillingness to do what the Lord calls us to do. Friends, if we see the importance of the calling the Lord has placed before us then we will relish ANY opportunity to consider how we may do this work better. Surely the mission of Christ in His people is above all agendas and renders politicking irrelevant.

There is nothing more important for the immediate history of the CRCA than to have these questions moved into the centre of our agenda. Classis meetings, Session meetings, Synod meetings, leadership at every level should be encouraging congregations at every level to commit to this challenge. As we do, we shall find our ministry and mission revitalised, our calling in our local communities sharpened, and our desire to fulfil that calling intensified.

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