Knowing—Growing—Sowing

Regarding our personal lives, it's good to ask ourselves every once in a while, "What the heck am I doing?" I get in such a groove with daily routines that I become stuck in a rut! Church is much the same: we go through the motions each week and, from time to time, try to remember the reason we're doing what we're doing (like I do these days when I go into a room, stop, and try to recall why I went in there!).

I am convinced that in our modern age of consumer church, by an ever-so-slight and a sometimes hard-to-recognize degree, we are veering away from the Church's simple yet profound original purpose: Helping to connect people with God.

This week, in the Wednesday morning men's meeting I attend at my church, I was thinking of our church's purpose in the community—these three words came to mind: to Know, Grow and Sow. It's probably cornball, and not at all original, but it reminds me that we should be all about people and not just designing incredible "big-top" extravaganzas of worship events each week. There is a place for worship services, music, preaching and fellowship in the life of our church (I just completed a 200-page book on the subject of worship), but to focus the majority of our fiscal budget, time and effort on producing events is out of balance.

To clarify: I am a proponent of killer music, excellence, and the "if you're gonna do it at all, do it the best you know how" approach. I love quality lighting because it helps me see what's onstage; I like good sound because it helps amplify even the smallest and most nuanced part of a sermon or musical arrangement; I like hi-def video because it helps me see the words to the worship songs, and I can be encouraged by my pastor's preaching in our Spring Hill auditorium, which is broadcast from our main campus, 20-minutes away in Franklin—and it can be seen at a later time online, too. Living in Tennessee, I am so very thankful for air-conditioning. I don't wanna go back to funeral fans and opened windows for comfort!

I am all for technology and the advancements that God has engineered to assist the Church throughout the centuries. But we must remember our primary purpose: to Know God and help others get to know Christ personally (through church services, events and outreaches and "circle-of-influence"-evangelism, etc.); to Grow spiritually (through various spiritual formation initiatives— from classroom learning to old-school one-on-one mentoring); and to Sow the Gospel and go into all the world, as the Great Commission commands (not suggests!). We are called to work along side God to help re-create in others what He has created through Christ in us. Ultimately, it's about fostering a community of people to (as the Westminster Shorter Catechism states): "...glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."

I think there's probably a place for Christ-followers to sit in a comfortable building, watching the "pros" do church each week for an hour and a half. But as we refocus our purpose, the work of the Church is not for the professional Christians alone to accomplish. Rather, it's for every church staff member and volunteer believer, both young and old, to join together in the business of Knowing, Growing and Sowing!