Who’s the one confusing it?

This is a response to the last post that Joel put on here. Right off the bat I want to say, I couldn’t agree more with you, Joel. These have been my exact thoughts lately. I have been thinking and praying about where the ministry should go here, and every time I do God brings me back to the conviction that everything we do must focus explicitly and intentionally on him. Of course, to someone reading this, even someone like myself as a recent graduate of Bible College, this sounds pain-stakingly obvious. Why else would a ministry be run in a church except to focus on God? For that matter, why else would we as Christians do anything except to focus on God? You know what, that’s actually not a bad question. Unfortunately, however, it’s not always that easy.

Here in my first few weeks of trying to relaunch this ministry, I have to confess that the majority of my energy has been spent on trying to figure out budgets and programming. Let me tell you, it’s very easy to begin thinking that these things, the numbers and systems of running an organization, are the reason the ministry exists. More than that, we become so easily blinded by the unknown of the future that we think somehow the right numbers and systems will provide us security. Have you ever been there?

It becomes even more confusing when we begin to see there are certain things we do or have that may not actually be bringing us closer to God. Perhaps some of these things may be bringing us further away from God and purpose for existing. But these things are so hard to let go of because they are attractive to us, and likely attractive to others. Take the hyped up games at youth for example; not to say at all there is no place for these, but what happens when we start relying on these to increase the numbers of our ministry? What happens when these things become the focus of why we exist? What happens when the people in our ministry come primarily because of entertainment and socialization? Even more, what happens when those in our ministry leave as soon as we teach them how to grow closer to Christ?

And so, while the question may be simple, the answer is not always as obvious. The answer may even be confusing. The question, then, is why. Why is the answer so confusing to us? In looking for the answer, perhaps it has much less to do with the answer, but the one trying to answer. I think as humans we have this habit of trying to find every solution outside of ourselves. It never has anything to do with us because, I mean, after all we have it all together. How could we possibly be part of the problem? It must be someone or something else, right?

If we took some needed time and breathed deep of humility and correction I think we may find the confusion lies in our need to justify the comforts and securities around us. We don’t like the idea of running a ministry that will hold people to character and conviction. We would rather hold to the things that we are familiar with and can somewhat seemingly control: numbers and systems. We would rather keep things comfortable in the name of being “seeker friendly”. We would rather suggest morality than warn of the eternal consequences of sin and lovingly restore a sinner. We would rather keep our doors open, hoping that somehow, somewhere a lost soul will come to us looking for answers than go out into the world with urgency to tell the world that purpose has been found in the Son of God who paid our penalty on the cross and rose from the grave to conquer death once and for all.

Who’s the one confusing?

You see, when we try to justify, things become confusing. When we focus more on compromise than conviction, our perspective becomes blurred even to the point that we firmly believe what we are doing is good even if it is not bringing us closer to God. However, something different happens when we hold on to our conviction in Christ. In Christ, there is no confusion. For those who are in Christ, there is no confusion because by the Holy Spirit they have the mind of Christ (cf. Rom 8:1-15). Therefore, in Christ there is no confusion. There may, however, very likely be difficulty and pain, but when it comes to right and wrong, there will not be confusion. If you find yourself asking of your ministry, “I wonder if this is honouring to God,” you have a much more serious issue than trying to figure out what events to run.

So forget your events, forget your numbers, forget vision planning. Do you have a passion for Christ? Do you desire with every piece of your being to know, love, serve and proclaim Jesus at every moment? Is it your inmost purpose to bring others closer to God?

How much clearer things would be if we focussed on Christ!

Dispel the confusion, hold on to conviction.