My Team, Our Team, God's Team
Who's team is it anyway? Is it "my" team, "our" team or is it really "God's" Team? When I was pastoring I at times would refer to the Church I pastored as "my" Church. How wrong could I be? It is clearly God's Church not "my" Church.
As we work together to impact the close to 5 million people living in Kansas City and St. Louis you will hear me referring to "the team" and I may even call it "my" Team. Anyway "the Team" is God's Team and it will consist of a large group of people across denominational lines and outside of denominational lines, in established Churches and in ministries that may not look like the Church, consisting of people who are willing to take responsibility for making sure all 5 million people have the opportunity to receive or reject Jesus Christ as Savior.
In my blogsite and in my prayers letters I will celebrate with praise to God anything I can that will bring glory to God. I will celebrate happenings in the Missionary Church and outside the Missionary Church. I will celebrate disciple-making everywhere it is happening. We will make disciples in the Missionary Church and we will make disciples outside the Missionary Church. Knowing that God ultimately plants Churches -we will serve with God in planting Churches in the Missionary Church and outside the Missionary Church. Some of the Churches will look like Churches as we know them and others will be vastly different -in a new wineskin and because it will be new, I cannot tell you what it will look like -only God knows. Some will ultimately carry our denominational label while others will not. We are making disciples. We are building the kingdom under any name or label we can.
In my recent prayer letter I referred to "our first" team that just started their second home group. While they are not yet under the Missionary umbrella they are on "my" team or I am on "their" team or really we are on "God's Team". I care not what label they will end up carrying if any, what really matters is that they are making disciples who make dsiciples who make disciples. Isn't this good stuff?
Please pray for me as I navigate through the unchartered waters of building a coalition or a "team" of men and women who are willing to make it our responsibility for giving every person in Kansas City and St. Louis the opportunity to receive or reject Jesus Christ.
As we take this posture of caring more about the kingdom than we care about the Missionary Church - I believe souls will be reached, unity will be established, and I'm certain God will also bless and strengthen The Missionary Church.
We are desperate to redeem a lost world for Christ as Christ works through us. There is no time for barriers and boundaries and labels that divide. These days call for unity and serving together across denominational lines for the sake of lost people.
Are you on the team, "My" Team, "Your" Team, "God's Team"? All three are His!
Keep Praying,
posted by Bob Carder @ 1:18 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Bob
You do care what label is given to teams, you must. You serve the Missionary Church. If this was not so, you would leave all denominations, get a job that would support you and your family and do all the wonderful things you are speaking so passionately about. I understand you serve God and you are on His team, yet you submit reports, raise funds by extolling the virtues (you call it celebrating) of what you and your group has done and go to conventions of the convinced and redeemed.
I cannot believe you would seek to lash out through a blog post. You have my phone number, you could have used it. Now, however, I hope you do not use it.
Jim, You're not being fair here. This is harsh and insensitive. I am shocked by this response, and this is truly revealing to me. This post clearly reflects my heart. I did try to call you with no call back! What is up with you?
Bob: I love your post! It made me excited and glad to be part of the team!
Cross denominational ministries are essential to furthering this disciple-making process you're currently on. Glad to see you so boldly say so.
Blessings!
Ouch!
Blogs, gotta love 'em; sometimes fear 'em. It's so easy to MISunderstand someone's intention in cyberspace. We all have experienced that, haven't we? Thinking someone's msg meant the opposite of what that person intended?
Rule of thumb: Always think the best of someone's post. That is usually the way they meant it, particularly if that person is a friend.
Jim, don't know the background here, but could you have read the post through the wrong filter? Been blessed by your insights on this blog, hope you can stick around.
I'll echo Mike's "ouch." I too have had a few misunderstandings with folks through this type of media. It's easy to do.
Bob, I love your ecumenical heart. When we planted in Illinois one of my first initiatives was to build relationships with pastors of other denominations. My efforts quickly grew into a weekly prayer gathering consisting of myself (Free Methodist), a Church of God pastor, a Assembly of God pastor, a guy from The Vineyard, a Presbyterian pastor, and a Christian denomination pastor.
That soon turned into monthly cookouts at each other's houses. And that developed into a multi-church community service initiative that our church coordinated over the summer called "60 Days of Service."
From there it grew to quarterly worship gatherings of multiple churches from multiple traditions where we worshipped together, took communion together, ate meals together.
It was a beautiful thing to see God beginning to bring about such unity in a city so divided as ours was.
Stay after it brother!!!!
Guys, it has been a weird and tough week. Your encouragment is so thoughtful and helpful as we battle not against flesh and blood. I don't want to give satan any glory it's just -you know how he works.
I'm overly eager to see God work in the American Church as we know her and out of her in a new wineskin.
We must work together, pray together and serve together. I grieve over misunderstandings..But in the Church as we often refer to her and outside of the Church in other wineskin ministries there is still misunderstanding.
Charlie Brown was right, I love the ministry But...? That But is where we must keep coming back to Jesus and His sacrifice. I'm so human, I'm so weak, I'm so prone to and to.
To all of my fellow bloggers I really do love each of you.
Hey Bob!
Just checking in with you to see if you're doing okay.
Being a visionary can be brutal at times...but it's a battle worth fighting.
Hey Bill,
I'm doing pretty well. Last week was brutal with losts of things going on. It was one thing after another. Thanks for praying. It's not what happens to us but what happens in us that counts. Keep praying if you will.
My wife and I both came down with a severe poison ivy deal this past week and it continues with a force this week.
I struggle with snakes and itching. I'd die if a snake bit me and I feel like dying with the itching if you know what I mean.
I'd rather have a bushel of spiders crawling on me than itching and snakes slithering over me.
We have two teams going into K.C this summer. My one guy just came out of the assessment center top of his class. The other guy did the same. It's going...
And the deal is as long as they make disciples who make disciples I really don't care what it looks like and my denominational leadership is in unity on this point.
Snakes and Itching...you could write a Country song about that, I think...
Loving you! And continuing to pray.
Mike,
I'd love to hear you sing that country song...twang and all.
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