It's decided, I make my community !

Saturday February 26, 2022

It's decided, I make my community !

3 John 1 – … but Diotrephes, who likes to be the first among them, does not receive us.

Nowadays, self-proclaimed pastors are legion and community openings follow. It seems that for many, pastor rhymes with recognition, decision-maker, in short, like Diotrephes, the one who has all the authority and whom the others must follow. There are therefore many pastors but it is clear that few of them have a pastoral heart. The pastor, in the biblical notion of the term, is not the great manitou of a community, but he is above all a person who will take care of others and through whom God will bring healing, consolation, advice and if necessary, the fix. It's not a function, it's a heart !

Afterwards, of course, who says pastor, says community. It would also seem that these are growing like mushrooms and, sadly, for many, it's the same pattern (big manitou and little sheep having no possibility of functioning, except cleaning the premises). I'm not saying that this is the generality, but we see this mode of operation all too well.

We read a post that said that “if so many Bible schools of all kinds are opening everywhere, it is because the church is not doing its job”. I really think that's where the difficulty lies. The Word tells us that there are few workers in the harvest and the Lord invites us to pray about this. However, if we open a community with the sole objective of making our group by managing everything, we are not going to help raise workers. Why not train people and empower them to rise up in the field and in the gifts that God has placed in them ? Are we afraid that they will take our place ? If we let people sit for a month, a year, two years... waiting to see the testimony they are going to give, we let them "die". When a young convert is on fire for God, while it is important to explain to him how to manage what is burning in him, he must be given the opportunity to let this fire manifest and set others ablaze.

We can criticize that many heat the benches of the communities but for a large number of them, everything has been done so that they do not take off their butt from these benches. We want to be leaders, okay ; but then let us discern the potential of each and lead people to manifest the gifts that they have received from God and no longer stifle them.

Good reflection.

Source (Ezekiel 37 Ministries) https://ez37m.com