Creative Cooking in the Church

As I travel from church to church, I hear a common lament. The details are different but the refrain is the same.

"If only..."

Sometimes the phrase culminates with longings for a younger congregation. Other times it concludes with musings of a different style of worship. Other times it ends with harsh judgments of the people that aren't participating in their church. Still others grieve the loss of generations of their own that have left for greener pastures.

"If only..."

But what if we took the creative cooking thoughts expressed in an earlier blog (Creating a Masterpiece) and applied them to the plight of the church? What if the local church looked around the "kitchen" and made a masterpiece out of what they found?

God has, in His almighty providence, allowed each church to remain open. Therefore, it seems clear that for each church God has a kingdom purpose in mind. And, with God's help the church has within itself all it needs to complete that task.

However, success requires a fresh assessment of the church's current reality! The church must remove its fixation from what is missing and begin to number its assets. These assets are the ingredients of a masterpiece! Then, the church must take these God-given ingredients and get cooking!

A creative masterpiece is waiting! A masterpiece that will bring wonderful glory to God.

Let's get cooking!
Lon

2Corinthians 12:9-10
But [Lord] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.