Carpe Diem

It is quite possible that down through the years the institutionalized church has become so much like its counterparts in the secular world that we have over-programmed and over-managed a very simple process. After carefully reading Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger's clarion call to get "back to the basics" in their book Simple Church one of the commitments that I have made for 2012 is to give leadership toward the involvement of our lay people here at CHBC. This church belongs to Jesus Christ; He is to be the head, not anyone else (Eph. 5:32). We are the Body of Christ which is made up of individual members; all of us are given spiritual gifts and opportunities to exercise those gifts within the Body (I Cor. 12).

I am committed to the reality that the Pastor does not solely exist for the purpose of organizing new programs and then attempting to breathe new life into them (Acts 6:4; Eph. 4:11,12; 2 Tim. 4: 2-5). But rather I am committed to the spiritual truths that all of us in this church are members of the body of Jesus Christ and that all of us need to be working together to reach people with the Gospel, to minister to people, and to impact the lives of people for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! If some structure and organization can be a help and assistance in helping us to achieve those things, then we must organize and develop the necessary structures. However, the structure and organization should never come between ourselves and the ministry to which God has called us. Wasn't it Nike that had the advertising slogan a few years ago, "Just Do It"?

Success, victory, and conquest is, in this life, tentative at best. Future developments always have the potential to mangle our greatest triumphs. So I thank you now for being part of the victory in 2011 and for being part of the opportunity for victory in 2012, BUT STAY ON DUTY! I think that it was C.S. Lewis, or perhaps Yogi Berra, who said, "It ain't over till it's over."

In fact, learning to give genuine, heart-felt thanks to God during our entire Christian walk is so important. As the rest of this new year hunkers menacingly on the horizon, we do well to remember that the Apostle Paul, who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us to give thanks "for all things" (Eph.5:20; I Thess. 5:18). Why is that? Well, if we waited until the circumstances warrant a full confidence and thanks, it would seem (at least in this life) that we would always be waiting for things to work out and never get around to praising God! Worship is a little like housework: the laundry "is never finished" and our adoring hearts' praise to the Lord God Almighty should never finish either!

Carpe Diem,
Pastor David Blevins