10-15-19

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 15, 2019
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Thought for the Day: Paul suggests there is no confusion in the churches of the saints, but we might be the exception at Cypress Creek Christian Church… in our church there is some confusion among the folks. With that in mind, let me clarify once again. Our underlying theme right now is: Building A Training Center for the Love First Life.

Question One: Are we building a new building?
Answer: NO!

Question Two: Are we remodeling a building to create the training center?
Answer: NO!

Question Three: Are we currently raising money for any new brick and mortar?
Answer: NO!

The idea of Building a Training Center for the Love First Life is predicated on the idea that Living the Love First Life requires us to be intentional. It is more a metaphor as we are building people, forming them through study, programming and worship to better their ability to Put Love First In All Things. All we need is our current staff and congregation, the current classrooms, the sanctuary and maybe a couple of workshop leaders from outside the congregation who would bring some expertise to a topic. Oh yes, we also need willing hearts who yearn to follow Jesus more closely.

This is more of a shift in our mindset and mission. What do we do at Cypress Creek Christian Church? We are in the business of making Disciples who strive toward the vision of Putting Love First In All Things. If we are going to “make Disciples,” then we need to have a plan and program. We need to look at where people struggle to put Love First, and then offer relevant learning opportunities to help people grow in their capacity. Too often the church has defined “making Disciples” as simply getting people in the door of the church, but Jesus took with him a group of a dozen who deliberately studied with him for three years. And even then, they continued to require more learning in the years that followed.

So let me review – we are NOT building any new buildings. We are seeking to remodel some hearts, reshape some minds and reconstruct some people’s lives. No building built with wood and nails can do what one person can do through simply loving another human being. Earlier in 1st Corinthians, Paul writes: “…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…” The “your” in this passage is the plural (in Greek, there is a singular and a plural), and so Paul is saying, “You all” are a single temple. At Cypress Creek Christian Church, we are working to build the temple (the people) where the Holy Spirit dwells. And that temple, made of flesh and blood and faithful people, will become empowered by the Holy Spirit to live The Love First Life.

Let us know if there are still questions as we do not want any more confusion. Thanks!

Prayer: Holy God, lead us in the good work of building the lives of people. Allow your Spirit to animate the gifts we have so that we can strengthen our work of Putting Love First In All Things. This we request in the name of the one who demonstrated the Love First Life, Jesus Christ. Amen.

SIDE NOTE: We are still working with FEMA to get the final information and documents on the Centrum. That renewal process is not connected to the Training Center idea whatsoever, though we continue to move forward.

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