Did God Just Call Me to Another Church?

So, I had a dream last night (Friday, January 5, 2018).  In the dream, I was very excited, honored really, and energized to be invited to join the ministry team of a young church and to help them grow.  In the dream, we discerned a way for the church to make an adjustment to their normal way of operating that would help them grow closer to one another and also to be more effective connecting with their community.  The leaders were all in, and it was all very exciting.  The church was abuzz.  There is really very little that thrills me more than when God’s people are on board to do whatever it takes to know Jesus more intimately and to make Him known more intentionally.

Sadly, in my dream, we came to the realization that in order to move forward with the plan, I would have to leave the church I loved.  I could not follow God’s direction and stay where I was.  Of course, I did not want to leave the church I loved.  We were just getting to know one another and love one another, just getting into that blissful groove between getting to know you and getting to love you.  The last thing I remembered from my dream was me straddling the road halfway between stepping out in the unknown to see God do something wonderful with this new church and staying put to remember and relish what God had done with our old church.

This was one of those dreams that lingers with you after you wake up and get going with your day.  As I was finishing off my oatmeal, still chewing on the dream, I was suddenly struck by a reality.  Anytime we purpose to go with God and to make adjustments to be more faithful, fit, and fruitful in the harvest, we must leave the church we love behind us.  We leave that church for the church we believe God wants us to become. 

I love the faith family God has called Donna and me to serve.  I love who they have become in their brief existence.  I love who we are becoming together.  In many, many ways, Highland Community Church feels like the church God has been preparing us to shepherd all along.  That said, change is inevitable.

Think about this.  We are not today the church we were when we started 13 or so years back, or five years ago, or even last year.  We grow, we change, we gain new friends and family, and we lose some.  Similarly, we will not be quite the same this time next year as we are today.

Which change do we want – the change that comes whether or not we pursue God’s best, change that rolls over us whether or not we are ready or even compliant, or the change that accompanies an intentional partnership with God, change guaranteed to move us more into Christlikeness?  Be assured: whether or not we follow God, we will be changed.  For my part, I opt for the kind of change that aims to make Father grin.

I have decided to accept the invitation of that young church in my dream.  I have determined it is somehow better to leave behind the comfy, cozy church we love for the courageous church we can yet be.  I see some adjustments we need to make, some tweaks here and some very real overhauls there.  They will change us, in some ways perceptible, in some ways not, but I am certain, in every way more like Jesus Christ our Head, as always, by His grace and for His glory!

Did God just call me to another church?  Maybe that’s not the question.  Maybe this is: Doesn’t God call us every day to be a new version of His church, another step closer to His design?  What do you say?  Want to go for a ride?