When your elders, church council or PCC meets together, what occupies most time in discussion? What's on the agenda?
I suspect that the universal rule of human life kicks in that the urgent constantly threatens to displace the important. So it might be that your time is taken up with discussing pastoral problems, building projects and needs, complaints from members of the congregation and, the oldest one of all - arguing about the heating system.
A friend of mine put it like this.
Why do you think we are not yet with the Lord in the New Creation? Why has Jesus not yet returned? Is it so that we can worship and praise him better in the here and now?
No. We will do that far better in the new Creation.
Is it so that we can grow in holiness and godliness now?
No. We will be perfect in the new creation.
The only thing we can do now that we won't be able to do better in the new creation is to tell those who don't know him how wonderful he is, and what he has done for us...
In his book The Leadership Papers, Philip Jensen made the acute point that, because we will always get absorbed with the details, we need to control what we spend our energies talking about by always listing the main point of the Church as a permanent item no 1 on the agenda: evangelism.
We've got to keep evangelism at the centre of our agenda, as churches, and as individuals. Because it's at the centre of God's agenda for the world, and his prime purpose for the church here and now.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2
Tim Thornborough is the founder and Publishing Director of The Good Book Company. He is series editor of Explore Bible-reading notes, the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series, and has contributed to many books published by The Good Book Company and others. Tim is married to Kathy and has three adult daughters.