It is interesting to witness how something virtuous can be turned to a vice over time. A simple concept, “We are here to save the world”, is one such example. Listening to “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” on Podcast brought this home.
Mars Hill was a Seattle area mega-church founded by Evangelical pastor, Mark Driscoll. The church collapsed in dramatic fashion as Mark’s misguided desire for control led to an abusive culture/ environment whose toxicity eventually drove the church into the ground.
There is little doubt that the church was driven by the conviction, “We are here to save the world” with all the hubris that statement implies.
The challenge in any church is to remember we are not here to save the world – that is God’s work. And, thankfully, we are not Him!
We are here instead to humbly serve the world. Mother Theresa’s words wrap this concept in a beautiful simplicity. “God does not ask us to be successful. He asks us to be faithful.”
In that journey of humble, steadfast service, we come to honor everyone’s path. One line of scripture speaks to that honoring when Jesus says to his followers, “you know the way.” (John 14:4)
So we serve. Humbly. We serve around a core conviction that God holds everyone’s journey, and that despite appearances, that care is both loving and constant.
For today, lets focus then on how we can serve. What are questions we can ask? What are the actions we can take?
