Life and death. Sounds urgent.
What is living and what is dying? At what point does living become dying? Beginning life, nurturing it, preserving it, prolonging it, stretching it; all of these things have been floating about in my mind of late. When sickness comes and we apply our health practices we need to know for sure what we are really doing. Have we extended life or have we extended death?
So I was reading stuff and I came across this statement:
A building can become an artificial life support system
that keeps a church alive
even though it died long ago.
@CMAResources
So as a church then you really need to answer and know the answer to the questions:
What's your essence?
What are you about?
What defines you?
If you don't, then how will you know if you are alive? All the energy, excitement and longing of the beginning days turns into the contentment and the feelings that we have arrived when the permanent church building arrives.
When you say "church", what do you mean?
Is it the congregation?
Is it a dynamic leader?
Is it a long-serving staff?
Is it a combination of the staff and the building?
Is it the building itself?
When the view is unclear, when the essence is removed will you know? I am sure some people will sense it but will it be identified? Or will the building's readiness to serve blur the absence of essence? If it does blur, will you forget the essence and just apply artificial supports to a non-life sustaining body?
Will you, by your efforts, be supporting life or extending death?
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