Greatest Joys

I mentioned in "God's Glory Part 1" that many perceptive friends and family have asked what I boiled down to two questions in regards to Reading City Church:

1. What has been your greatest joys?

2. What has been your greatest challenges? 

Having answered the second question, I want to use this post to respond to the first.

Having said it is a challenge to exist for the glory of God alone, this also is by far, my greatest source of joy. The striving to get that right is far less stressful then it is to strive to please man or a system. There is something very freeing in giving God control, not just of the future direction of the church but of my every day. Not that I have mastered this, mind you. Not even close. But I am learning what simplicity and joy there is in saying to God "this day is Yours, it belongs to You. May every conversation, ever piece of work that I put my attention to, bring You glory alone. Give me eyes to see You in the ordinary today. Give me ears to hear Your voice in the midst of noise and silence. I don't want to miss Your leading." 

I used to be perplexed by the meaning of the scriptures when they spoke of being "led by the Spirit," but now I am learning that there is nothing mystical about it. I think it simply means to exist for His glory alone. God then takes rather ordinary circumstances and desires and transforms them for greater purposes. In the church-planting world, as well as in the missionary life, the mundane is often transformed to the miraculous. To the degree that a church planter and missionary continue to be dependent on God, the leading of the Spirit grows. When this dependency turns into systems and programs and our own kingdom building, the leading of the Spirit lessens. This is because the Spirit of God is not interested in competing with our agendas or egos. 

This singular joy has made the way for many other joys. I could write a whole post about how we ended up having church in the IMAX in the city, or how I ended up in this great office in the city for dirt cheap and how it strategically located across from the park we have been doing work in and homes of long-time residents of the city, that we have helped to repair. I could tell you about the unchurched bands that just played a concert to raise money for us to continue such projects. I could write about the young adults who are becoming fully active as volunteers in this city and how some are choosing to move into the city to serve it more fully. I could tell you about how the last few weeks have been close to being packed at the theater and we have not spent a dime on advertising yet and how the presence of God is felt and made known in that place as many people cry and worship every week. I could write about the stories of God's life through the brokenness that various ages shared this past Sunday. I could tell you about the sense of community that is already beginning as people open up their homes just to hang out. I could tell this and so much more. 

Are things perfect? Of course not. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. And yes, we give time and attention to these things. But as I have alluded to in the two proceeding posts, the greatest challenge before us is not how to DO things better. Rather, it is how to exist for God's glory. This is the foundation upon which everything else is done and so, it can never be assumed, but rather deserves the most attention. This, in turn, yields the surest joy and the most abundant fruit.