To Leadership at Clevedon Baptist Church
What defines the health and strength of the church? Is it the size of the congregation? Is it the newness of buildings? Is it the number and range of various groups and activities with in the church? Is it the liveliness of the worship? Is it the presence of youth work? Is it the presence of children’s work? Sometimes we many be tempted to think that the church is just some activity group, some social organisation of similarly minded people who meet together to do stuff that they enjoy. Perhaps this is how people who are not Christians think of the church. They do not think they need to come to church in the same way that I do not think I need to joint a golf club!
I was struck by that preacher from open doors, how he described the persecution of Christians across the world and my heart wept for their suffering and loss. But you know what came across even more, was their steadfastness, and the risks they were willing to take to just to meet together and know the Lord. To my way of thinking there was health and strength in their churches, in very difficult situations.
So what defines the health and strength of the church? My contention is this, you cannot judge this with human eyes or human thinking. Only spiritual eyes can see the work of God. What matters more than anything else is closeness to the Lord. And this can only happen in our hearts, in that secret place. For the Lord is our rock, our strength, our health, our fortress, our past, our present and our future.
Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
Closeness to the Lord should be our benchmark, our yardstick, our litmus test. In all our activities we should ask this question, “will this bring us and our fellowship closer to the Lord?” Much of our activity is noble and good, but does it bring forth this kind of community? A community of believers, who encourage one another to draw close to God?
For God has this mission, “to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house, .. I will bring the blind by a way they did not know, I will lead them in paths they have not known, I will make darkness light before them, and the crooked places straight, these things I will do for them, and not forsake them, .... fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 42. And I believe God chose us to share this blessed mission with him; we are to encourage one another to be filled with the spirit of God and draw close to him. This is and must be our core activity.
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