Monday, May 01, 2006

Ship of fools?

Yesterday, at church members' meeting, we were reminded how as a church (or fellowship) on the move, our lives together is akin to a long voyage on a ship - the only way that the ship is going to make it is if we pull together.

The pastor drew out five simple yet somewhat profound elements from life on a ship, which is required if the church or fellowship are to continue to be on the move. Here's what I noted down...

  • Physical structure - the material elements of form, function, equipment and facilities.
  • Personnel structure - the crew know their gifts, their functions and know how to pull their weight. We are all crew members, no-one should be a passenger.
  • Compass & direction - ship's leaders know where they are and where they are headed; guided by the credible Source.
  • Attacks & turbulence - we expect storms and adverse situations; if the ship is leaking, we not only need to bail water but also plug leaks. When unhealthy thoughts come (e.g. "nobody knows what I am going through", "things are not the same anymore", "my needs are not being met", etc), we have to be open to the possibility of the enemy at work.
  • Comradeship & learning to bear each other's burdens - this is often the toughest challenge, where the 'attack' is from within the ship. In ministry, we sometimes indirectly demand recognition. We demand that people understand our motives and the decisions that we make. We demand that because we serve, our needs must be met. We want to look good rather than do right in the eyes of the Lord. We poke at the planks in others' eyes yet our own is sticking out like a sore thumb. Sometimes, we serve but do not carry a servant's heart. It is not a wonder there is hurt and disappointment.

    Someone once quoted: Getting hurt in ministry is not merely a potential 'hazard of the trade.' Rather it is often the central process by which the best ministry gets done; that is, provided we stick on long enough. The easy route is to jump ship - there is nothing wrong with that, if that is where God is leading us.
The points which the pastor emphasized made me realise that sometimes Christians do not realize that the voyage we are on is a perilous one. There are plenty of things, circumstances and people (God forbid) that will sabotage the success of the journey. Question is: Are we in for the long haul or do we think it's a joy ride?

To frame it further into the future: Will history record our ships reaching its intended destination with minimal casualties, or will it find a ship of fools sunk at the bottom of the sea?

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# posted by Sal : 1:51 a.m. | Be notified of new blogs |   Forward to a friend
Comments:
I liked your post on Ship of Fools. Those five thoughts are great. You are a thoughtful and deep Christian, attending perhaps a 'deep church' in London. I was in London last year in the first week of fateful July!
You could check out my spiritual blogs at blogspot [under Procyon] or the testimony blog at http://borax.wordpress.com

Regards
Procyon

# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : May 06, 2006 12:44 p.m.
 
Thanks, Procyon. You have great blogs by the way, and plenty of it!

Cheers
Sallibuc

# posted by Blogger Sal : May 10, 2006 10:37 a.m.
 

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