Together In Every Season
More than words.
"Together in every season." is a committed way of life. In a healthy household, togetherness transcends temporary disagreement, conflict, and even distance. There's a dedication that brings us back together and a devotion that seeks a good beyond self-servitude.
When you reject the transactional and embrace the familial, you'll find that you gain more when you're no longer giving to get. Giving is at the center of our faith's origins. We follow Jesus, the King who laid down every entitlement and took the form of a servant. He gave everything for those He loved. So will we.
CONSUMERISM VS CHURCH.
"The movement Jesus began has become for too many a religious institution rather than a dynamic way of life in a missional family." -Bob Rognlien
We cannot reconcile Biblical descriptions of the Church with the currently prevalent consumer-driven model that focuses on "meeting the needs" of those who donate. In this model, the money stops flowing when the programs start slipping and attendance starts dropping when the preaching starts sucking. We reject this mode of operation because it's simply not how healthy and loving families relate to each other.
Ephesians 2 tells us "you're no longer strangers...you are members of God's household...being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." Did you catch that? We are not anonymous in the crowd. We have a place. We are a family that belongs to our Father and each other.
Nature Before Purpose
We must understand the familial nature of the Church before we can effectively engage the missional purpose of the Church. By nature, the Church is a spiritual family—a family that has been brought together through restored relationship with God as Father through Jesus the Son. The Church doesn't just act like a family. The Church is a family! And through this family, Jesus is carrying on his mission—the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20).
As ministers of reconciliation, the most effective thing we can do is to live in the reality of the gospel we preach. "Together in every season." is how we live the good news.
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