We get so bogged down in life. Extras. Extraneous. Everything but what really matters. We all know it from our personal and professional lives. We experience it as well in our church.
In our case, there is pretty good reason. The Bond Situation. The economy, both when it boomed and busted. The incredibly fast pace of life in South Florida. I could go on, but, frankly it’s kind of depressing to outline it all. But whatever the reasons, it’s time we go back to basics. That we address our core.
My experience in the church has been when we state this desire, we end up preaching “First Principles” lessons. That’s a subjective term, but usually it means very basic evangelistic sermons that focus on what must be done to be saved, and the basic (five) acts of worship.
This is NOT that!
God has always challenged His people with a vision. Beginning with Genesis 12:1-3:
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” (emphasis mine)
How were all people on earth blessed through Abram? Through his descendant, Jesus, who in turn left instructions for His church in Matthew 28:18-20:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (emphasis mine)
Of course Jesus commanded a lot of things, but they are all summed up in two simple requirements: Love God. Love your neighbor. This is not to neglect Biblical instruction about salvation and worship and church polity. But it is saying that as we are obedient to Jesus’ commands, we help fulfill God’s vision.
For the sake of argument, let’s add a couple more Scriptures. First is Isaiah 49:6: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (mine again!)
God is not just concerned with a congregation or the church. He wants the world to be saved! He wants the world to know Him and be blessed in the process. So far, these verses give us God’s vision: that His people will represent Him throughout the earth, so that all people might be blessed and ultimately saved. But look at one more text, that looks ahead to the accomplishment of God’s vision. Revelation 7:9 says this: “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” (yes…emphasis mine again)
God’s vision for His people is that they (we!) be involved in bringing blessing and salvation to the earth. The result is seen in John’s apocalyptic vision; the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language will be together with God, forever!
When we talk about our core, it must address God’s vision. In fact our own “Vision Statement” puts it this way:
The Griffin Road Church of Christ shall be a multicultural family of loving ambassadors all wholly committed to spiritual maturity and joyful service
You can see that it reflects God’s vision for His people and His world. Our statement addresses who we are as a congregation and what our unique characteristics are. From this vision statement we can articulate four terms:
Belong–>multicultural family Embody–>loving ambassadors Grow–>committed to spiritual maturity Serve–>joyful service
These are our core values. These are the areas we’ll be addressing in coming weeks. I began talking about how we’ve become distracted. When that happens and life overwhelms our attention, we neglect our core. That is why we’re refocusing. That is why we are seeking renewal. That is why I hope you can see that the Core Matters!
