From Oscillation to Consistent Progress

While the general tenor of my perspective on the church is positive (how could it not be in light of Jesus, especially on Resurrection Day?!), a number of realities cause me to daily oscillate in my feelings about how things are going.  I look at the health and progress of a capella Churches of Christ in western Canada and I think, "Whoa, we're in big trouble, we have virtually no impact in our communities!"  Then I electronically dialogue with Blair Roberts, or have a phone conversation with Kevin Vance, or hear about something that Zambia Mission Fund--Canada has done, or talk to Colin Hattrick or Jordan Clark, or have a meeting with Darcy and Hope, or see the positive things happening with our young adult ministry at Calgary C of C and I think, "We have every reason to be hopeful."  Then I think about how apparently unimportant Sunday morning worship is to some Christians when I don't see them for weeks, and I say to myself, "The desires of the world are largely controlling our choices and priorities."  Then I watch Larry and Joann Luck come on a Saturday and fill our pantry so that we can feed the needy, and I am so pleased with the church's ministry to those around us.  Then I talk to someone about their habits with respect to spiritual disciplines, and I think, "I don't know if any of our people are consistently spending time in Scripture."  Then I get a devotionally oriented book for a relatively new Christian like Andrea Milner, and she gobbles it up and tells me about how she and Kaitlyn read the Bible together.

I do think that Churches of Christ in western Canada and the church I serve have a long way to go in order to be what Christ wants us to be.  In many ways we are essentially irrelevant, in fact, we are statistically almost non-existent in our cities, in that, we impact such a relatively small part of our populations.  But as long as there continue to be Resurrection days, there will continue to be life in our churches, with opportunities to move forward from here and to have the kind of impact in our world that God wants His Kingdom to have.  This will require that our young take the ministry of the church seriously and that they play a significant role in the body of Christ.  This will require that the our choices and priorities regarding our time be primarily governed by the gospel and the Kingdom.  This will require that we increase the level of our service to the needy of our communities.  It will require that we possess biblical attitudes toward our Elders and their leadership, rather than the immature questioning of them that I hear too often (there is a mature way to question leaders, but most of what I hear is not this).  It will require that we, at my own church, take seriously the plan for discipleship that our Elders have adopted, so that we work the plan.  It will require a love for the lost that supersedes our love of self, permitting us to outwardly focus.  It will require that families make financial sacrifices for the good of the Kingdom.  It will require that a new generation becomes significantly interested in the spiritual disciplines of prayer, study, giving, service, and worship.  And with these things, and many more, as possibilities, it seems we have a chance to consistently move forward.  Because God is always there ready to bless, the oscillations present in my own perspective can be replaced by not just consistent hopefulness, but by consistent joy as we see the progressing of the Kingdom that God wishes to work among us.