Church of the Future?

What will the Church look like in 5 or 15 years?  If you have not thought about that recently, or ever; I invite you to stop reading, ponder about this, and pray.  Today’s teaching wants to remind you, that this is what God leaves us on Earth to do. 

   Throughout scripture, and common knowledge also, we find that the actions of today produce the results of tomorrow.  The seeds we plant, result in the type of fruit on the vine tomorrow.  The road we choose to follow, determines the destination we arrive at later.  There are a number of things we must do in the meantime also, watering the seeds and course correcting to stay on the path.  When we choose to plant the seeds of God, and water them with the Living Water, God then blesses the harvest with bountiful fruit. 

   Borrowing 3 questions from a fellow pastor, Ron Edmondson of Lexington, we can weigh our goals and direct our paths. http://www.biblestudytools.com/blogs/ron-edmondson/3-questions-to-formulate-a-life-plan-for-2013.html

1. Where do we want to go? This is the goal itself, the point we look at to determine if we are headed in the right direction. 

2. How are we going to get there?  Unless your goal is to stay the same, there are changes that need to be made, and processes established in order to accomplish the goal.

3. Are we willing to pay the price?  Like Pastor Edmondson, this is where we fall off so often.  We can have a good goal, and see what needs to be done; yet that does no good if we stay put and do nothing.

“36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.  37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain--perhaps wheat or some other grain.  38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.  39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh  of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. “ 1 Corinthians 15: 36-39

What about us? What are we trying to sow? And are we ready to put for the effort to get there?  We must weigh the money we spend, the actions we take, the activities we participate in (and plan), against the goals.  We can setup milestones, and mini-goals as points to measure against, and keep us on the right path.  These will help us measure, because those things left unmeasured often are left undone.  If everything lines up we go forward.  If we do not judge each thought and action, we will very likely end up going in circles.