daily bible readings

It became trendy about 10-15 years ago for churches to have a vision and mission statement. The corporate sector had gone through this phase and was entering a new phase when the church jumped on board. Every church was scrambling to find its purpose statement, mission statement and values.

Of course, I am not poo-pooing purpose and mission statements and values. Churches without a purpose and mission statement will inevitably be like a one-legged duck swimming in a pond. They will simply go around and around in circles doing the same old thing year after year. Purpose and mission statements are a great tool in getting churches to focus and to have deliberate and intentional direction. Having these statements forces a church to intentionally focus and to do what God has called it to be doing.

Given that the Bible is the blue print for churches, we can assume that most purpose and mission statements will focus around the Great Commission and making/growing disciples. While the words may differ, we can expect that the focus of the church is set by Christ Jesus.

Often what happens as the church seeks to go forward, is that discussions are had. Prayer is offered up and final decisions are made. Almost inevitably, someone or some group of people will not be happy with the decisions made. That is, in and of itself, okay.

Sometimes, the phrase is bandied around - “We will have to agree to disagree.” Patrick Lencioni, in his podcast Stop Agreeing to Disagree, suggests that this is a bad tactic that should be avoided if possible. When people agree to disagree, a formal consent may be given to decisions  but buy-in is often missing. People assume a passive and sometimes passive aggressive stance towards the decision. Sometimes, those that disagree work against the decision either consciously or subconsciously. Even passive non-involvement in the decision made has a negative outworking in the life of the church.

As Paul and his team travelled  through Phrygia and Galatia, they were led by the Holy Spirit from preaching in the province of Asia. The Spirit stopped them from entering Bithynia. They settled for the night in Troas. 

“During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”” Acts 16:9. The team had to decide what to do. Would they go down to Macedonia or would they do something else. While this may seem a silly example, the test reveals something interesting to us. In Acts 16:10, we are told, “After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

The word concluding is often overlooked. This is the key term in the verse. The Greek word in the original text means to pull together or to unify. It can mean to reconcile. The word paints a story for us. As Paul awoke, he would have shared the dream or vision with the rest of the team. The team would have debated the issue and considered from all angles what to do. I suspect there would have been debate and frank honest discussion.

During that discussion, I suspect that the goal would have been to find out God’s will and what is best, from a kingdom perspective, for the team. While a host of other factors may have been considered, the goal remained the central item.

This forms a great model for our groups, committees and leadership teams. The goal is not what I want or what I think is best. The goal is to find God’s will for the team, church, etc., and what is best from a kingdom perspective. We need to discover the direction God wants the group, or team, or church to go. Obviously, a whole range of issues will be discussed.

As we make the central issue “what God wants,” we begin to overcome personality issues and power struggles. “What I want” becomes less dominant and no longer drives the decision making. Personal agendas and desires are sidelined. As everyone prayerfully seeks to find God’s will, all the relevant issues can be discussed and debated.

At the end of such open, frank, and honest discussions, most people come to the realisation that God’s will has been discovered. There is no need to agree to disagree. There is no need to passively resist or oust oneself from committing to the decision. When we are convinced that we have and know God’s will, people buy in to the decision and commit to it. People are more likely to run with the decision and proactively support it.

PRAYER

Adoration:

· Adore God that He loves to guide and lead His people.

· Adore God that He sends His Holy Spirit to guide, lead, and protect His children.

Confession:

· Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks:

· Thank the Lord Almighty that the Holy Spirit is your seal, your guide, and your teacher.

· Thank Jesus for dying on the cross and for being raised to eternal life so that you can be Spirit filled and proactive in your Christian life.

Supplication:

· Ask the Holy Spirit to create in each believer in your church a kingdom focus that is immovable and steadfast.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What role did the Holy Spirit have in leading the disciples as they travelled?

2. How did the Holy Spirit guide them?

3. What role should the Holy Spirit play today in churches and decision making?

4. Using a dictionary look up the word conclude and research it. How does your understanding enlighten the meaning of the passage?