The Church's Struggle

One of the things with which the church struggles is giving God room to work.  While this sounds rather strange and while it may sound like something which a disenchanted, or burned out old preacher might say, it is something that carries with it more than just a little truth.  The church is constantly being bombarded by external forces which seek to steer it in one direction or another.  The steering force may be an organization which needs the food of funding, or the secular culture which seeks to define how the church should do its business.

One of the things missing within the psyche of the church is an awareness that it is primarily a spiritual community.  A spiritual community is steered and directed by the current and the wind of the Holy Spirit.  Such an existence requires the kind of faith modeled by Abraham when he got up from the comfort of Heran at age seventy-five and started a journey forward with God even though there was no clear destination in view.  The church and its leadership will always be uncomfortable with that kind of spiritual ambiguity. 

It needs a clear sense of where it is going, who is going to pay for the journey, and what will happen once arrival has been achieved.  Trusting in the Holy Spirit to simply lead without some person or group in control is  impossible.  Too many control freaks fill the pulpit, the pews, and the committees to allow such a thing to happen.  Ever so often the Spirit breaks in anyway bringing a kind of spiritual chaos that disrupts the status quo in such a way that the church takes an unexpected turn toward the vision God has had for it since it was first conceived with the blood of His Son.  And, when it happens some run for cover and some fall on their knees.