“This is Church”

It’s a while since I’ve written, kinda reflective of what my new life looks like! But as I sit in the free-wireless-lobby of the hotel in Melbourne, I decided to use my time profitably.

I’ve been with Compassion a couple of months, now and I feel caught up in a whirlwind – an amazing vision to “release children from poverty in Jesus’ name” – an all-consuming vision, that is close to the heart of God. Yet, last night, as I was delayed in Sydney along with a battle-weary crowd, longing that the overdue flight number would be called, I began thinking about church, and how important it is to me, a signature of my life, yet how easily my available brain-space gets used up.

I’ve noticed, of late, that the heart and urgency of Christ’s bride, the church, has not had its place in my life. Quite understandable I hear you say, I am called to make a difference to children in poverty, I am heading to Africa in a couple of weeks, I will see, smell, touch and feel poverty first hand in the third poorest nation of the world. Yet I had this unsettling, the prompting of the Holy Spirit, to get my head and heart back in place.

So there, in the crowded Virgin Gate 31, waiting for the delayed DJ884 to be called, I prayed. My prayer? That church, Christ’s bride, would get its place back in my heart. That I again would get that urgency for God’s house. And where was I going in Melbourne? The Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit.

I was at the one a week earlier in Adelaide, as we are sponsors, but I missed the opening address by Bill Hybels. That was because I needed to hear it this week. Bill’s new book is “Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs “ and he went through the sayings and personal proverbs that have guided his leadership over the last 30 years...the man who says “there’s nothing like the local church when the local church is working right”.

And so, his final axiom was “this is church” and the reality of my prayer the night before hit me... It’s the “people-things” that matter. Bill gave examples of having a coffee the guy whose son was just arrested – when there are lots of other pressing things or celebrating the 18th birthday of Nancy Beach’s daughter while speaking at the funeral of a beautiful 19 year old girl the very next day...This is church!

But the one that hit me...Baptism...The guy he baptised as a new believer 30 years earlier, he’d helped lead this guy’s son to the Lord and now, his grandson is being baptised...This is church! And then I remembered when God broke my heart for His church, at a Willow Creek Conference in 2000, with Bill Hybels (in person)...the baptism video undid me, the church, the life changing power of Christ in their life evidenced by the celebration of baptism, I was unconsolable.

Bill says, “Interdependence, vulnerability, listening, giving of ourselves. Can you hear the spirit whisper to you now? This is church!”

Listen up! #1 – Light and Easy (not a frozen meal)

Matthew 11.28-30: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (NIV)

Yokes and burden, they aren’t particularly fun things, but they are necessary. In a way, they are a “system of work”. Without a yoke the oxen that are ploughing the field may head off in separate directions and not effectively undertake the task that will produce the optimum yield. Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. It still means that we have a yoke to be placed upon us and a burden to carry, but they are easy and light, not difficult and heavy. But it’s clear that in life and work… we have a job to do. Have you ever been so excited about what you are doing that you have worked hard and produced great results, but it seemed like it was effortless? I think this is what Jesus means.

So if Jesus is our boss… “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me”, he’s a fair and loving boss…” for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”. The Message Bible puts this a great way:

Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

I like the fact that God’s work is characteristic of our life. Its important and significant work, but we are well able and equipped to do it. It’s so much more motivating when it is meaningful and inspiring and can even be easy and light!. This is in direct contrast to the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus’ time. In the following chapter of Matthew’s book it’s easy to make the comparison of a light and easy burden and a difficult and heavy one.

The Pharisees criticised Jesus because He didn’t fit with their rules (their yoke and their burden)…”unlawfully” picking grain and healing people on the Sabbath. Other days were OK, just not the Sabbath. Overt pressure on rule keeping in favour of what people really need creates difficult yokes and heavy burdens.

I think that there are times in our Christian lives when what Jesus had intended to be light and easy, becomes difficult and heavy. So what’s the difference? From my experience it is the work of the Holy Spirit within me, the comforter, that makes our yoke and burden exactly how God intended them to be. I love how Martin Luther King Kr discovered this…

In January 1956, at the height of the Montgomery bus boycott he had received numerous death threats – one evening he had what he would call his “kitchen table conversion”. His responsibilities were great, his mission significant, and he couldn’t do it on his own nor with a second hand faith. He had fear and nothing would relieve it.

“I got to the point I couldn’t take it any longer…I was weak. Something said to me you can’t call on Daddy now…You can’t even call on Mama now. You’ve got to call on that something in that person that your Daddy used to tell you about. That power that can make a way out of no way”. He had to call on the Holy Spirit’s power to help him through. The church had been so much his home all of his young life that he had never stepped outside of it far enough or boldly enough to forge his own relationship with God, with Jesus, with the Spirit – not that of his father or mother or Ebenezer Baptist in Atlanta. (from Stewart Burns, To the Mountaintop: Martin Luther King Jr’s Sacred Mission to Save America 1955-68, Harper San Francisco, 2004)

© Anne Knock 2008
http://nouvellefeuille.blogspot.com/

Why "My New Leaf"?

Yesterday I finished working at Christian Schools Australia. Six years. It was our annual National Conference in Melbourne last week and I had a wonderful opportunity to farewell "our community" from around the nation.

Near to the end the CEO asked me if I would find a gift for his assistant who had carried a lot of the load for preparation and organising. I was wearing "my old leaf" pendant, when I noticed a piece missing. I was rushing to Collins Street in downtown Melbourne to find something.

Melbourne is a great city. A people city. I love the little arcades with their tiny cafes and shops. I was determined to find one that would have something special. Finally, I found an unusual looking jewelry shop, found something for Annette and then... the "new leaf" pendant caught my eye. Something came over me and I decided to buy it. Before leaving the shop I put "my old leaf" pendant in the pocket of my jeans and put on "my new leaf" pendant.

I returned to the conference. Slipped my boss the gift for Annette and returned to my seat. I showed my purchase to the young woman I was sitting with... "that's very appropriate" she remarked. I didn't get it. This was the last day of my job and this pendant was symbolic - my new leaf!