DISCOVERY

It's OK To Let Go!      R.D.Ice  6-04

        This is a composite, but it is based on true events which took place in two large metropolitan areas plus some other places.  Names are of course changed.  I have borrowed ideas from other writings and filtered them through my mind.

        "Through the years, Central Church of Christ [not the real name] in Mytown, PA, gradually declined in attendance, from 200 to 45 or 50.  Looking out over her 80-year-old pews, you saw only beloved senior citizens, and they were dwindling fast."

       "What to do???  The gates of Hell cannot destroy the Lord's One Spiritual Church.  But individual churches can lose their candlestick.  After talking about money and trying to raise support, another patch to a leaky roof, and seeking advice from respected brethren, the church hired a young (very young) preacher who knew nothing of the difficulties.  He made plans, hired an architect and contractors, built some new classrooms, and added a second Sunday morning service."

        "But, as we found out, Central Church had wonderful facilities, but no children left to enjoy them.  The day was coming, and could not be postponed.  The candle was about to sputter out."

        Closing One Door to Open Another.  "Turn it around or close it down."

           My computer has a "refresh" button.  It resets to the original default program.  But how to do it in this case???  We could imagine the Lord saying, "OK.  You did a good job.  But the inning is over.  It is time to move on and restart anew."  It was time to abandon the past and move on to the future to accomplish the Lord's purpose.

        Central sold the building, liquidated all the assets, and gave the money to a church-planting group overseen by a large church in the Midwest.  Leadership and planning was to be completely in the hands of the church-planting group. This sort of church-planting had been done in Bay Shore, Long Island, NY, some years ago.  Begin something new and fresh, free from the past and with a new identity. 

        This new church began meeting in a movie theater.  Discovery Church of Christ spends no money on building upkeep, and rent is not all that expensive.  Some who would not come into a church-building did come to the movie theater church.  The bulk of those who came were young, skeptical, and curious.  To them the established church was irrelevant, bureaucratic.  But these same young people were, however, hungry for truth and starving for a spiritual connection with God.

          Things are happening.  Our challenge is: How do we connect with a generation starving for God but disillusioned with what little they know of the church?  How do we eliminate barriers between a dying world and a living Savior??? Every Sunday morning the lobby of the movie theater is transformed into a meet-and-greet area for the Discovery Church of Christ.  Like Paul, we preach Christ Crucified, Risen, Coming Again!  The church went back to basics, not "issues".  Sermons focused on the purpose and mission of believers in Christ (the church).  We studied fundamental doctrines (the apostles' teaching).   We set about to discover and use our spiritual gifts.  Evangelism classes and evangelistic methods were taught.  A home-cell group was begun - meeting from house to house just like in Acts.  In the first six months, Discovery Church of Christ is averaging more than 250 in worship attendance. 

        Some times a computer must be restarted.  It shuts down and then reboots.  Central shut down and then restarted in the same community - but with a new identity and a new future.  Discovery Church of Christ is just the first phase.  Additional seed money left by the Central Church of Christ will be used to start two more new churches in 2007 and 2010.

        "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23 NKJV).

        [Note: Mytown, PA, is near a large population center and in a fast growing area.  But this fact did not help Central Church of Christ to this point.  Something drastic and new was needed.  Discovery Church of Christ was that new beginning.]

         There is more than one way of doing things.  Paul tailored his approach to fit those whom he was trying to reach (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).  We can do no less.  What Central Church did would probably not work in the rural area where I live.  But we ourselves are experiencing a time of renewal following a fire in our church-building (and we do have a younger generation coming on).  We praise the Lord and ask Him for wisdom and vision for the future.

         What can we learn from “Central - Discovery”???  How can we step away from the past and reach out to the future?  Paul said: “but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). 

         First, a quotation from Augustine.  "Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love, and the future to His providence."  And, as we say: "Keep on keeping on!"

         1. Why did this work?  The gospel is the same.  What really changed to make the difference in reaching out to the community?  What can we learn from this?

         2. It is always our intention to worship God and obey Him!  But we might have been more focused on "the building" than on the Lord Jesus.  Perhaps we have been trapped by the past.  Paul wasn’t.  Phil. 3:9-11; 1 Cor. 9:19-22.

         3. Someone said: “Success is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.”  Someone also said: “Life is what happens while you are making other plans.”

         4. We always remember that Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God made the plant grow.  Compare Psalm 127:1

         5. It is dangerous to allow the recent Past to be an albatross around the neck of the church.  We always look back to Jerusalem, which is right, but we also look forward to the future.  We are not to allow the world or the Past to squeeze us into its mold.  We are to be transformed (Romans 12:1-2).

         6. Truth cannot change!  But methods may change, and may need to change.  Paul was all things to all men, “that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:19-23).

         7. When we stand before Him, might He say: “If you knew it would draw the people in to meet Me, why didn’t you do it?”