Day Eighteen - Loving what Jesus loves, well.
Tuesday’s and Wednesdays are big, big church/planning/strategy/coaching and it usually begins at 8am and doesn’t finish until after 10pm or 11pm by the time I follow up and email and (sometimes... not very well .. follow through). I have gifts that are NOT administrational.
Then my other days I am sermon prepping, preaching, recording, planning and of course all the normal family, lots of it!
And I work my coaching hours around this and some volunteer hours with a national movement.
Like many of us, it’s a full life!
Let me speak to the Christ-following woman today. I am going to be honest. It's been a really different experience pastoring here in Quebec. I have seen people open to Jesus but super anti-church. They are also anti-leadership. Sceptical about trusting. Reluctant to commit. Cynical about giving. And certainly not in love with the idea that the local church can be the hope of the world.
Don‘t get me wrong, we have stunning team who build and serve and lean in and give their heart and soul (And we celebrated them last night for all that they carry ... they are phenomenal!!)
It’s just not the norm. Everything else takes precedence. Sports, study, work, leisure. That makes it super challenging to build with.
I looked back over my life and looked again at the ‘daughters of Z’ and found a common thread that may just be a key to accessing promises and legacy and breakthrough.
The daughters of Z held such a deep respect for the way God had ordained His laws, the leadership over the people and the way the people of God gathered. Although they changed the course of history with their boldness, gained an inheritance and liberated women through the law from that day forth.. they did it all within the God-given institutions there already.
I too have realised that, amongst all the desperate need across the earth, the causes that pull on my heart and the desire to really make a difference… there is still nothing Jesus has asked clearer of us than to love what He loved and gave His life for.... the Church, the living, breathing, Body of Christ, upon the earth!
I watch too many people think every other cause is more important and women give their maternal heart away to everything else more exciting or more urgent.
Can I encourage you to use your maternal heart first and foremost to make the House of God a HOME and your very first ‘cause passion’. It may not look as sexy but it is what Jesus is returning for.
The Church is His BRIDE .. and we can love her, His imperfect Church, like Jesus does. In fact He sees Her (the Church) without spot or blemish.
Don’t make every other cause more important than seeing your local church flourish. When you have been hurt by people in the church, can you please forgive. When the church is imperfect can you please not talk about Christ’s bride in a way that would hurt His heart. Can you lean back in again if you have withdrawn?
I believe true influence lies in loving what Jesus loves and gave His life for and I will forever be committed to leading a movement of women who love Her (the Church) too!
Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is be a ‘plodder’. Is keep showing up. Is being faithful. Is boldly getting over offence, sensitivity, hurt and misunderstandings. As we sometimes say ‘suck it up princess’. The local church needs your heart and soul. It will never be perfect because you and I show up!
This blog article on plodding is one of my favourite ever! Super worth the read and a share and to every gorgeous Christ-follower who has found themselves thinking commitment and consistency doesn’t matter, can you take some time to read it over here
I told my team today that there is nowhere else on the planet that you can find people who love like people do in the local church community. It is life-giving and hopeful. Even when the world is so dark. Suicides are on the rise. We have the ANSWER! I want the whole world to experience this love. It takes people who will be bold enough to build, even through the tough times.
This is true boldness to me.