I gave a sermon one time where I spoke about a phrase my father always used with my brothers and I growing up to remind us to focus on our priorities. He'd say "Don't forget to keep the main thing, the main thing". It wasn't just a phrase telling us to keep our priorities; instead he was acknowledging that we knew what the most important thing to get done and we just needed the discipline to keep that thing at the forefront of whatever action we took.
Many churches definitely fall into the trap of not "keeping the main thing, the main thing." It's not like most churches don't know that they should be led by the Holy Spirit or that they should seek out God's Will. These are things that most churches, across the board, agree on. Whether their actions support what they know in their heads is a completely separate matter.
As I began preparing for these devotionals, I began reading the book of Ezra which outlines the Israelites leaving bondage in Babylon and rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. In Ezra 3:1-7, we see the first actions taken by the Israelites when they arrived at the tattered remains of their Temple.
On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, even though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid. (Ezra 3:6)
As I have sought out advice and training on setting up a new church, I asked one individual with knowledge of 501(c)(3) policies some questions. When they got interested in what I was doing, they started asking questions about where we were going to meet and if we already had a building. At first this individual exclaimed, "You don't even have a building yet?" As the conversation moved on, we both thought out-loud about how much churches will die on the altar of their facilities. How many churches have been hampered from growth because they won't move out of an old, cramped sanctuary? How many churches force ministries reaching people for Christ to beg for funds because they have to provide for the upkeep of a vaulted ceiling or some antiquated furniture no one is willing to throw out?
I don't say this to pick on these churches, but it does show that they have failed to put "the first thing first". The first thing is obviously following God's calling and reaching the poor, the sick, the oppressed, and the lost. Where a group meets is MAYBE second, possibly even lower on the list.
When we first started talking about The Well Community Church in earnest, Pastor Frank said that this church needs to be, above all things, a praying church. We need to seek God in all we do, in the decisions we make, and the actions we take. These are all things we know are the "main thing", but it's on us to actually act like it. We must pray, we must spend time in meditation, and we must spend time building one another up in love because that is the rock upon which Christ's church will stand. Whether we are speaking of our church plant or any other church endeavor, we can not fail to keep the main thing "the main thing". Seek God and know that He is for us so long as we dwell in Him.
Lord, we pray that you will guide us in this journey we are undertaking. Give us the wisdom to be as shrewd as snakes but the temperament to be as harmless as dove (Matt 10:16). Provide us with humility when it is warranted and strength when it is so desperately needed. God, we pray for those we currently sit with in church meetings and during worship services that you would bless them with your goodness and grace. Make your goodness known in the lives of those who would stand in our way and give us the love to show those whose actions have not been kind. Finally, let everything we do be for your glory, and your glory alone.
In Christ's precious and Holy name we pray, Amen.
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