Doing Vs. Being
By Todd Porter Posted on January 13 2010
While I was out hunting I was doing a lot of thinking and praying. Mainly about what the heck is going on with my situation and why it has taken so long to find another pastor to students position. I even thought that maybe what God wants me to do is start my own church like a couple of my friends in student ministry are doing. But then I thought about a couple of things. The first being that I do NOT want to be a senior pastor and work with adults. They are BORING and students are so much cooler. Not to mention adults are so stuck in their ruts that it is hard to motivate them. And along with all of that, it is not what God called me to, so I would fail miserably.
The second thing I thought about was that I don't want to be a part of the problem, but to be a part of the solution. What does that mean you ask? Well, a pastor friend of mine says all the time that we need more churches in this area and I completely disagree. We do NOT need more churches, we need BETTER churches. Because most of the churches in this area suck! Don't get me wrong many of them are DOING great things, but they are horrible at BEING the church in their community.
Let me explain this further.... I know of churches that do some really cool outreaches in the community, or are part of their local chamber of commerce, or have some really good worship services that reach out to non-believers as well as believers, etc. But the problem is this, they are just DOING these things, like they are some kind of a gimmick that will make them grow in numbers. You can DO some really cool outreaches, but if you are not BEING the source of hope and light to them, what good are you really doing? You can be a part of the local chamber of commerce and set up a booth or attend their annual banquet, but if you are not BEING a source of help to them and the community, what good are you doing? You can DO a seeker-friendly service, but if you are not BEING a church to them, what good are you doing?
It is not enough to DO things, but it is time to BE that thing that is needed. I am sick of churches not BEING churches. Instead they put together all these flashy things to attract people and just DO church. The flashy things are not bad or even wrong, but it is the heart behind it. That is what it means to BE the church, it means that your heart is there to minister to and touch lives and not just DO church. You can have horrible music, a lousy sermon, uncomfortable seats, but if you are touching the lives of people (i.e. BEING the church) you will grow. It goes back to the old saying of people don't care what you know, until they know that you care!
I for one have decided that I want to get into a church and help it to start BEING the church and stop DOING church. So no announcement from me about the latest church being started up here. Just news that I am more determined then ever to be a part of the solution and not the problem. Let's get out there and BE all the we can be!
Comments
From Auth on April 26, 2012
Krystal, My head looked silmair to yours about 4 years ago and I had three young children too. But my faith in Jesus was strong, and He showed Himself to our family and those who loved us in many tangible ways. Although not all of our prayers were answered in the ways we would have liked, He had something much better for us than we could have asked. He had His BEST in mind, and that’s what He gave us. And I suspect that that’s what He’s doing for you too. My hair is long again, and I don’t even thing about breast cancer every single day anymore. But we will be forever changed, and I would not want to have missed those experiences for anything. I pray you’ll soon be able to say the same.
