The future is our friend...

I have been having major problems getting into the sermon today, so I finally just decided to finish reading Warren Wiersbe's "On Being A Servant of God." As I stated in an earlier post, this is a great little book for church leaders or those who want to be. Each of the 30 chapters is only about 3 pages long. It's simple, easy-to-read, and practical.

In the last chapter Warren talks about the future. He says:

During my lifetime, the church has been warned about the disastrous effects on society by movies, radio, automobiles, communism, alcohol, television, "the pill," the population explosion, nuclear weapons, liberalism (theological and political), conservatism (theological and political), electing a Roman Catholic president, the cold war, pollution, ecological time bombs, abortion, sex education, ERA, the national debt, and several other threats that fell through the cracks somewhere along the line. Just about the time we thought we could breathe freely again, somebody told us to reach for our wallets and prepare for another peril.

And yet, here we are!

Isn't that the truth. He also says, "One thing about change hasn't changed: it still fascinates some people, frightens others, and provides a good living for a prophetic minority."

He goes on... "I can't do much about changing the world... But I can do something about bringing God's presence into the world in which He has put me, and that's what ministry is all about."

Hmm. Yeah. That's what I want. And he told the perfect story next. He says...

Years ago I read a fable about an ant who asked a centipede, "How do you know which leg to move next?" The centipede pondered the question and replied, "I guess I've never thought about it." But the more he thought about the question, the more perplexed he became until finally he was so confused he couldn't walk at all.

We can get so wrapped up in pondering the perplexities of the future ("Which leg shall I move first?") that we fail to seize the opportunities of the present and do the work that's needed right now...

This is why I hate watching the news. It seems all they're out to do is paint the absolute bleakest picture, hoping to stir the biggest controversy or create the massest hysteria - all so their ratings will go up.

I kinda feel that way about books on ministry anymore too. And that was partly why I enjoyed this one so much. I am tired of everyone talking about how terrible the church is; what's wrong with the church; so on and so forth... And it's not that it might not be true, but what the heck are we gonna do? Deconstruction can only take you so far. I think some people are addicted to it to the point that they're like the centipede; or they like to tear down, but don't know how to build up. Unfortunately, I have been too much like that myself. It's time for a change.

On the very last page Warren says, "I'm encouraged about the future because God is in it and Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. The future is our friend when Jesus is our Lord."

Amen and amen. Thanks Warren.