Monday, September 24, 2012

Mission Impossible???

Well, I did it.  I introduced  new mission statement for my church and I did it all wrong. (sort of)  I collaborated with God and with the church and community in mind created this statement to help us focus and grow etc.  It should have been created by the people for the people but that just didn't happen.So here it is:

KNOW GOD (as opposed to no God)
BE KNOWN by the love of Jesus
BE MADE NEW through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit

We will use it for all our decision making.  For example:  How would a second service help new people KNOW GOD?  How would we BE KNOWN in the community because of this service?  How is this service tapping into the Holy Spirit to make us part of God's New Creation?

If we can't answer these questions deeply and thoroughly then we cannot move forward with this project.

However, from the get-go I have suspected that this my be an impossible mission.  Who can know an infinite God?  A God that is timeless and forever will always be a mystery. I love the quote from C.S. Lewis' The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe:
 "He'll be coming and going. One day you'll see him and another you won't.
 He doesn't like being tied down - and of course he has other countries to attend to. 
It's quite all right. He'll often drop in. Only you mustn't press him. 
He's wild, you know. Not like a tame lion."
―Mr. Beaver[src]
After all God is Alpha and Omega, beginning and End, abiding with us and yet...knowable?  I don't know. I have asked on Facebook what do people know about God?  What do people want to know?  What will people be uncomfortable knowing about God and is that significant?  How do people Know what they know? How do they learn more about God?  Is it impossible to KNOW GOD?  What do you think? 

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