Doing and Being

I woke up with the realization that I actually have a blog site. I suppose I better use it. So here's what's on my mind today...

I have been preaching heavy in the church about what we ought to be. Honestly...it's good stuff. I'm seeing magazine articles and books in the future. Oh yeah...it's that good.

But here's the thing...

I have been talking an awful lot about the kind of church we need to be. What we need to be doing and how we ought to be acting. Know what? It's absolutely true. But at what point do I as the leader begin to transition from talking about the kind of church we need to be, and start being the church we need to be.

Yes, I know the church is made up of people. The people need to get on board and embrace the vision. Until they do, it's hard to actually BE that church. But the fact is, I think they know what I'm talking about now. We are at that crucial moment (hopefully not past it) where we need to shift into high gear and go before we run out of steam. This time of vision casting and education was necessary. It will still be necessary as time goes on.

My message is simple. "Jesus makes your life better." I think it's time that I get very specific as to exactly how Jesus makes your life better in my preaching. So I'm going to transition myself and my style of preaching from talking about the church, to actually being the church. Sounds like something I should already know, doesn't it? It's not that I don't know it. It's just that I have felt like people have not been getting it. But the word now is, "Ready or not, here it is."