If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
Every year, for fourteen years now, the elders of Renton Bible Church have gone to Camp Gilead in Carnation to seek God’s direction for our congregation. And every year, for fourteen years, God has shown up. It always amazes me…especially when I have little idea in advance how He might direct our time…the fact that He always does direct our time. It is a testament to the verse above, along with Jesus’ promise, “I will build my church.” It’s good to be reminded that it is HIS church…and He is the one who builds it. So, the question we are really asking each year is, “How is Jesus building in Renton Bible Church?” Behind this question is the acknowledgement that we don’t ask Jesus to merely bless what we are doing; we ask Jesus to help us see the part we should play in what He is doing! As we began to seek an answer to that question during our 24 hours away at the beginning of 2020, we were drawn to the great work God has been doing in and through the expansion of our building. Certainly, evidence of this great work is revealed in the visual of a newly completed sanctuary. Just before I sat down to write these words this Monday morning, I was blessed by the visual of the rising sun streaming across the face of our new entrance and upon the cross raised high for all to see. God even threw in a rainbow in the western sky for good measure! (God really does know how to chase away a case of the Mondays.) Yet, as beautiful as our new sanctuary is, more profound in our conversations this weekend was the spiritual impact this building has already had, before we’ve even begun to worship in the new space. Certainly, the steady flow of visitors, especially strong in recent months, has been an answer to our prayer to extend our kingdom outreach. Even more than the number of guests visiting has been the spiritual responses of newcomers resulting in baptisms, new believer discipleship and opportunities to proclaim, one-to-one, gospel truth. Of course, it isn’t just the building expansion, but certainly the expansion has increased our visibility enabling us to expand our impact for the Gospel of Christ. However, our conversation about what God is doing in our midst went beyond the Gospel impact on newcomers to the Gospel impact on those within our body. Something we have seen throughout the almost two years we’ve worked on this project has been the “side effect” of the increased sense of community this project has created. It’s really hard to “carry one another’s burdens” if we aren’t rubbing shoulders with each other. Daily working together for Kingdom purposes has had an inestimable impact on growth in spiritual fellowship (koinonia). Another tremendous “side effect” has simply been the way this project has called us to selfless and sacrificial service for a bigger story. Talk about a practical way to put into practice finding our part in the Story of God! I’ve shared a number of times how difficult it was for the city of Renton building department to conceive of a volunteer-led project of this size. Who could imagine men working for two years, five days a week, for free? Who could imagine men showing up every weekday, after a full day’s work, to put in extra hours of labor on a church? Who could imagine men and women giving up Saturday after Saturday…after Saturday, setting aside their own home projects and recreational pursuits, to advance the Kingdom of Christ?!? Yet is this not the model we see in Christ and the disciples? For three years, didn’t the disciples follow Jesus day by day for the sake of Kingdom work? Didn’t Jesus give up His throne to devote Himself day and night to preaching the Good News of the Kingdom? Many have raised the question, “what is going to happen when we are done with the expansion?” A corresponding question has been, “now that we’ve built it, how will we fill it?” And questions like these have driven us to yet another question, “what would happen if we turned this daily or weekly devotion to Kingdom work from a focus on physical building to spiritual building?” It seems radical, doesn’t it? The idea of a lifestyle of daily serving Jesus. The idea of daily pursuing opportunities to bless others in Christ’s name. The idea of daily asking God how He would use us that day. In a culture that says “seize the weekend,” encouraging an isolationist, self-absorbed pursuit of pleasure, the notion of asking anyone to daily take up our crosses and follow Jesus simply seems, well, unthinkable. But I wonder if this concept is really that radical in God’s eyes? Would you ask that question, with us? Would you join us in seeking to understand how we might maintain this momentum of self-sacrificially seeking kingdom interests after the building is done? I know…it’s big…it’s huge! But this is where your shepherds sense God leading us in 2020. We invite you to prayerfully join us in this quest!
1 Comment
Darryl Staszewski
2/4/2020 09:28:19 am
Thank you
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
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