"Church" Two

I (Vince) have served in full-time ministry as a pastor for over 15 years. I can tell you first hand, it is insidiously easy to make church about almost everything else but Jesus. Most of the time, we do not even realize we have done so. Somewhere along the way, styles of preaching, worship, children’s ministries ideas, church buildings, and a host of other things lead us to a place where Jesus is not the predominate thought and His mission is not the motivation.

In a sobering portion of scripture in Revelation 3:14-20, John records the words of  Jesus as he talks about the church in Laodicea. In it Jesus is standing outside a door and knocks and waits for someone to hear Him. I have heard people use this portion for personal salvation but in reality, Jesus was not saying this to an individual as in "I am standing outside the door of your heart," but rather, He is standing outside the doors of a church! Somehow, the very establishment that was designed by and for Him, subtly pushed Him out of their gatherings. This is scary because I can pretty much guarantee that the church in Laodicea was completely unaware of their sad state. 

The good news is that the grace of Jesus works relentlessly until we open the door and invite Him back in; it is true for individuals and it is true for churches. Read many of the books for church congregations and pastors today and you will see a call to return to the simplicity of being about Jesus. I thank God for this because much frustration, confusion and exhaustion in my own life, and certainly in the problems that churches face, is the direct result of an unclear focus on Jesus.

RCC will be a church that fights to remain simple. To do this does not mean we will lack structure or leadership or systems. It is much the opposite. These things are needed to preserve simplicity. Knowing Jesus and participating in His mission for our time and place is what we care most about. This is the only way we can uncover & live out the glorious design for His church.