One morning Colin and I had an interesting conversation that got me thinking . We were discussing how it is important to stay on the cutting edge of things. I could hear the heart of a pioneer once again beating ahead its time ! That's where pioneers live, at the cutting edge of what they do.
We were talking about the cell phone market of how the once leading brand, has now given ground to a then lesser know brand simply because they did not get in on the Smart Phone market quickly enough. The other brand was a dark horse that sneaked up behind them and today are the world leaders leaving the others in their trail of dust. Who would have thought that the giant leader could be shaken?
This is true for our lives as well, in our places of work, and as leaders of churches.
Staying on the
cutting edge is not easy. It requires that you to be alert be informed, have
your ear to the ground and keep pace with the changing times. There is no room
for complacency or getting cozy and comfortable. You may be ahead of the game
today but staying ahead is not guaranteed, nor can one take it for granted. We
need to constantly adjust and set out sails to the winds of change. We need to
read the signs of the times and adapt our methods without compromising our
values or goal.
"The wind
blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it
comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the
Spirit." John 3:8 . Nobody knows when where it will go are but we need to
set our sails to it .
I know that
on the business front we have had to adapt change and learn new skills all the time
to stay on top of what we are doing. The markets have been shaky and we have
had to adapt to survive. We thank God for the Holy Spirit’s leading and
guiding.
The same is
true for the church. What worked twenty years ago may not hold true today. The
Gospel is indeed eternal and unchanging. The End does not change but the means
needs to adapt to the changing times. In the 1960’s and 70s standing in the
market square preaching and distributing leaflets was probably and effective
way of sharing your faith. But to do that today would be at the risk of one’s
life in some countries.
At one time the
big stadium crusade had an appeal, an anointing and many came to faith through
them viz. Billy Graham meetings, Bill Lorry etc. Today, a lot of these crusades
are filled with already Christ Followers and very few seekers. The results are
poor, and leave very little impact on the local church and community.
So what is
the Spirit saying to us today? Where is the wind blowing? How do we need to set
out sails? We need to be a people full of the Word and the Spirit.
We believe the
Holy Spirit is drawing our attention to the original Blueprint that was set out
in Matt 28:28-2- i.e. make disciples of
Jesus who will in turn make disciples of Jesus.
It’s simple,
probably you might think too simplistic. But it is foundational, powerful and
THE tool Jesus gave the 12 to change the whole world. It does not have any
glamour and flash to it. It is slow, deliberate and effective. One only has to
read the book of Acts and the Epistles
to see.
We believe
the Holy Spirit is taking us back to the method employed in the book of Acts,
where entire regions and even countries were changed by this. I am referring to
the House Church model where they met in people’s homes one on one.
As families
were transformed, an entire community got affected which spilled over to a
region and then an entire nation. Nothing has proved to be more effective over the
centuries (even the Wesleyan revival was sustained by the house meetings). This
method goes wide and deep producing lasting fruit over and over again through
ordinary folk like you and I. It is not dependent on the Super Pastor model
that is difficult to replicate. This can happen starting today as you reach out
to a friend, a neighbor, a colleague and start a small group in your won living
room. It can begin with you and just one more person and allow the Holy Spirit
to breath upon it. As more of us do this, like yeast, it will work itself into
the community and bring change.
This we believe
is the new wine skin for a long season to come, this is where the wind is
blowing and we need to set our sails to what the Spirit is doing.
As we do this
we will have the joy and privilege of participating in the greatest harvest our
generation has seen.
Let’s be on the
cutting edge of making History for eternity!!
To read more about how this can be worked out please click on the link below.
Navaz D Cruz
Feb2013
