I attended the Bishop’s Day on stewardship and evangelism today, and really enjoyed the things the keynote speaker, Mike Slaughter, was sharing. He was focused on disciple making and said some challenging things, such as Jesus didn’t come to save church buildings, but to save the lost. I appreciated his honest in moving from the church growth strategies and towards making disciples and having people be the hands and feet of Christ. One of the things that I took from the sessions was a reminder of what our focus ought to be as church. Our mission statement is, We are disciples of Jesus Christ who are loved by God, loving God, loving others, and serving the world. In other words, our vocation is to make disciples of Jesus Christ through that process of evangelism, worship, small groups, and ministry. I realize that I still don’t focus enough on these things – or maybe more accurately, I end up dealing with politics within the church that too many times take away energy from the true mission of the church. I do this out of fear of what others think of me and out of a desire to avoid conflict.
I’m writing this because this issue is one that God has been addressing during this fast. A friend of mine from seminary wrote a blog post awhile ago that has stuck with me. You can read it here. In it he wrote this:
“My most besetting sin is my ruthless determination to protect my fragile ego.”
And I totally relate to it. God spoke very clearly about how I am valued when, 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ lived among us, died on a cross for my sins, and was raised again. From this I am able to be a child of God by grace through faith. The million dollar question for me is this, “why isn’t that enough?” So, I’m growing. And God is patient.
I’ll close with the prayer of the week from the first week of March as found in “The Divine Hours.” I prayed this prayer 3-4 times daily during that week, and doing that kind of makes these prayers grow on me.
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant that I, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear my cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Oh wait, one more prayer, this one from this evening’s vespers. It is a Syrian Orthodox prayer:
Glory to the Father, who has woven garments of glory for the resurrection; worship to the Son, who was clothed in them at his rising; thanksgiving to the Spirit, who keeps them for all the Saints; one nature in three, to him be praise.