Which work comes first

 

Acts 8:18-24

There's kingdom work. And there's church work. When those two combine, faithful and fruitful ministry grows. To be sure, though, you can have one without the other. Everyone knows the modern church is experiencing a dilemma. Communities around our local churches have changed in ways we didn't prepare for. At speeds we tried to ignore. The larger culture has moved away from the church at its center. That has impacted church attendance, church programming and everything else in between. Often, we talk about these changes and dilemmas in terms of loss. Indeed, time and circumstances have changed much in our lives, personal and communal. And that can hurt. That's a reason to appreciate scripture's notion of pruning. Maybe we aren't losing as much as God is pruning away. When God prunes, it's for our growth. So, now, as God's church, we find ourselves wondering what to do next. One thing we must be certain to do is learn to distinguish what is kingdom work and what is mere church work. A common pitfall of modern church leadership has been the focus on preserving the church institution. When we plan, we want to know, Will this help our church? Will our church benefit from this? Little else seems to matter. By ourselves, we probably can't help but think that way. But with the Spirit's help, we can see more faithfully. All that to say, if your first focus is kingdom work, church work finds its right place. If your first focus is church work, church work takes over. Kingdom work often suffers, if it's not altogether ignored. Simon, the former magician baptized in Acts 8, saw the power of God "through the laying on of the apostles' hands" (Acts 8:18). He asked to receive "this power." Not the power of what God was doing, but the power to be able to do what the apostles were doing. Read that story again through the lens of kingdom work and church work. It often feels like what we often do today falls in line with what Simon was trying to do. Stay blessed...john