From John White at House Church Chronicles:
The "prevenience model" for church is illustrated in the Old Testament.
"Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped...Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in the camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. (Numbers 9:17,18,22)
The cloud = the physical manifestation of the presence of God (see Mt. 17:5)
The Tent = the Tent of Meeting. The place where the people assembled to meet God. (Consider 1 Cor. 14:26: "When you come together..." or "When you assemble...")
God (represented by the cloud here) is always the Prime Mover. He is always the Initiator. He is always proactive. He is always prevenient. He is always "before".
The people of God are always the responders. Their job description is simple: "WATCH THE CLOUD. If it moves, then you move. If it doesn't move, then you don't move. No matter how long it takes - two days, a month or a year." For some of us, learning how not to move is much harder than learning how to move.
Sounds un-American, doesn't it? Our culture says, "Be proactive! Don't just sit there - do something! Make it happen!" And that culture is reflected in the church.
The values of the Bible are different. "WATCH THE CLOUD. Do what it does." God is God and we are not. It's His church, not ours (Mt. 16:18). He is building it and we are not (although He does let us help out some times).
The church that God is restoring is more than a church that meets in the home. Its a church made up of people who are getting really good at WATCHING THE CLOUD. And responding appropriately.
