Imagine one of those old sailing ship that used to cross
the oceans with hoisted sails catching the wind and pushing the ship forward.
There would be many sailors aboard all with 1 mission in mind to get the ship
and its cargo and passengers to its destination safely as it was a dangerous
job with potential hazards all the way. Each sailor had a function and purpose
aboard the ship and each had a role to do.
One of the hazards would be a lack of wind and the ship
being becalmed when it would slowly drift along for days or even weeks. Imagine
how frustrating those times must have been for all aboard and how the days must
drag.
Then after days and days of this – the flag at the top
the main mast flutters ever so slightly, the watchman jolts to attention as
eyes become fixed on that piece of material.
Then….. the cry….. “ALL HANDS ON DECK!!!!!!”
There is immediate action as sails go up and the sailors
ready the ship.
As the church we need to be aware that the “flag of the
spirit” is stirring. There is a fresh and new move of God stirring of which has
not been seen before. The way that we “do church” and the models that we have
built by up to now will need to be held very loosely. Traditions and the good
old “because we have always done it that way” statements will need to be looked
at again in the light of this new move. If we as the church are malleable in
Gods Hand then we are about to experience an outpouring that we have only
dreamed of up till now. If we remain rigid and unwilling to embrace change then
our gatherings will become dry and unfruitful, our outreaches will be ineffective
and growth will become stunted.
In Acts chapter 10
there is an event that would change the dynamics of the early church
significantly. Until then the church had an understanding that was predominately
shaped by the Jewish culture and gentiles were seen as unclean, then God breaks
in and what they had perceived as being clean or unclean was turned on its
head. We know with the benefit of hindsight how this change would rock the early
church and how they had to “wrestle” through what this would mean to the way
they did things as now the gentiles with all their different cultures and
habits would be introduced and added to the church. It was a huge adjustment
for them. The “model had to fit with the changes and not the changes having to
fit the model.
My only point in all this is that the Spirit is starting
to stir. Awake church, prepare and adjust now in order to be the church for
tomorrow.
