SimpleChurch Journal aka House Church Blog

We Are Workers Not Master Builders

Steve Bogner quotes Archbishop Oscar Romero who puts it all into perspective:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

(House Church Blog is an interactive forum for house church, church planting, and related topics. Feel free to post comments!)

We're Just Learning!

(If you are looking for House Church Basics, scroll down a couple of posts).

I thought this put things into perspective. Andrew Jones suggests that we might be at least 5 years away from seeing a structure emerge that will really support a "movement" of house churches. In other words, we don't really know what we are doing yet. And that's a good thing!

He suggests that what we are doing today is experimenting with "prototypes":

The movement in USA and Europe is not ready for franchising or exporting, It is not looking for entreprenuers to multiply it but rather for pioneers to beta test it. For engineers who can tinker with it while it is moving. To make it workable and efficient. To get the bugs out of the system. To see what missing elements need to be included. Perhaps God is not allowing recognition from the mainstream so that there can be a window of time to create the protoypes away from the spotlight.

This excites me! We get to tinker, beta test, experiment, and acknowledge that we have no idea what we are doing... and just let the Spirit continue to lead. This is my idea of fun!

(House Church Blog is an interactive forum for house church, church planting, and related topics. Feel free to post comments!)