big church wee church

Bill Hybels is pretty well known these days throughout the Christian church.

He's the senior (and founding) pastor of Willowcreek Community Church in Chicago, USA.

I've never formally met him, though I did once hear him speak. A powerful, moving address it was as well. And a bit disconcerting to hear him admit in the course of what he said that preaching was not one of his top three 'gifts'.

But that's by the by. What he said back then (this was years ago now), and what he continues to say whenever he gets the chance, is something along these lines - the local church is the hope of the world.

I'm committed to that truth as well.

The local church is where it really happens. So far as the work and the purpose of God is always concerned.

I'm more persuaded than ever of that these days.

What goes on at the heart of the whole big institution called 'the church' is not what drives our life.

It's what the Lord is doing at the level of the local church - it's that which really counts.

When 'big church' meets this week there's no compelling reason why the things that it decides should serve to jeopardise in any way the work that goes on here. 'Wee church', if you like.

But I don't want the work of wee church here to be compromised either by the line that big church takes. By being tarred in the eyes of the public with the same brush.

God's heart is with the 'wee guys'. He doesn't do 'big' so much.

The local church is the hope of the world.

I'm committed to that.

And because of that commitment, a lot of my time through today has been spent in addressing the issues which big church is going to present.

Telephone conversations with a number of folk in relation to what I want to say about the order in which things are taken at big church's big Assembly.

Decide the case first, is the line that they take: and then discuss the principle.

At least that's how it comes across to an average punter like me. Back to front and upside down entirely. Like quite a lot of things in big church.

And I want to challenge that. As do quite a number of others, I've come to realise. So I've been in touch with a number of folk. Not exactly conspiring together. Just trying to get our act together.

Wee guys, committed to wee church. And trying to get big church to think again.

There have been a number of e-mails as well to write. Fairly lengthy things. Responding to concerns, questions and a fair amount of confusion in the minds and hearts of many wee church people.

It'd be nice to be able to produce a standard answer. But the questions are very varied, the concerns are differently worded and the confusion is very personal.

They need individual attention. And that takes a lot of time.

It's a form, I suppose, of 'electronic' teaching. Explaining the thrust of the Scriptures and working them through in relation to all of the issues folk want to address. One-to-one instruction in the form of e-mail dialogue.

My 'chaplain' was here today. This was the visit I should have been having a couple of weeks ago. Except I got myself double-booked.

I was saying to her that there are two different things I see myself called to do.

One is to teach and explain the Scriptures, expounding the content as best I can and informing the minds and the hearts of the people here as to what God's Scriptures teach.

The other thing I have to do is help folk learn themselves to think biblically. Knowing the content of Scripture is not quite the same.

Learning to think biblically is the heart of our wee church worship.

At least that's what I think one of Jesus' early friends called Paul was on about when he said that our 'reasonable worship' lay in our minds being renewed and transformed by the Spirit of God.

Wee church is where that happens: and wee guys slay the giants.

Wee church is really what changes the world.