Batter Up!
In case you haven't noticed or possibly you aren't coming to The Point Church, we are seeing more and more folks come, return and make it their home. With growth comes challenges, opportunities and the exposing of weaknesses. Growth is affirming, humbling and challenging on so many different levels. I had breakfast with one of our Elders this morning, he had a great baseball analogy. Right now, we are getting a lot of balls pitched to us. We had better be at the plate, ready to swing at the balls that are in the 'strike zone'. There will be foul balls, there will be swings and misses, otherwise known as strikes. We might even get hit if we step into the pitch. Ofcourse, we may have to 'punt' just to get a runner on first from time to time.
I was on a little league baseball team growing up, the Meadowthorpe Astros. One day, I was pitching....yes, pitching. The batter swung and made contact with the ball which headed straight for my face at a million miles per second. I saw it coming and reacted with freakish swiftness by raising my left (non-gloved) hand to stop the ball before it went straight through my head. I have no idea why I did not attempt to catch the ball with my glove on my right hand, which would have been the heoric, athletic and common sense thing to do my dad later reminded me. I just knew that I had to stop the ball from impacting my head. I actually 'swatted' at it in the way a girl might shew away a fly.
How this applies to the growing church I have no idea. It just seemed like a good story to share.
It is tempting to try to manage the church and control the growth so that we are not overwhelmed and overworked, but that's not God's plan for the church according to the New Testament. God has promised to build HIS church, if HIS people will simply BE the church.
My task: stay out of HIS way, in HIS will and Word.
I was on a little league baseball team growing up, the Meadowthorpe Astros. One day, I was pitching....yes, pitching. The batter swung and made contact with the ball which headed straight for my face at a million miles per second. I saw it coming and reacted with freakish swiftness by raising my left (non-gloved) hand to stop the ball before it went straight through my head. I have no idea why I did not attempt to catch the ball with my glove on my right hand, which would have been the heoric, athletic and common sense thing to do my dad later reminded me. I just knew that I had to stop the ball from impacting my head. I actually 'swatted' at it in the way a girl might shew away a fly.
How this applies to the growing church I have no idea. It just seemed like a good story to share.
It is tempting to try to manage the church and control the growth so that we are not overwhelmed and overworked, but that's not God's plan for the church according to the New Testament. God has promised to build HIS church, if HIS people will simply BE the church.
My task: stay out of HIS way, in HIS will and Word.
