walking on the water

The day has just ended with our monthly time of congregational prayer.

More and more I'm aware of the pressing need for that. And I was much encouraged to see a significantly larger number of folk coming out to that tonight than has been the case for months.

These are faith-stretching, stepping-out-of-the-boat-and-starting-to-walk-on-the-water sort of days. In looking to appoint a person as Development Ministries Leader we're doing what we've not had to do in years, in some ways.

We're having to step out in faith. We're having to look to the Lord to raise up the person he means to be doing this work: we're having to look to the Lord to show us the future he plans: we're having to look to the Lord to provide the finance it will need.

So it was good to be getting together like that tonight and be bringing these things to the Lord. One lady came up to me at the end and said, "It's exciting!"

It is. Scary in a lot of ways. But definitely exciting, too.

We have a wonderful set of premises. A church building which is spacious, bright and attractive, and technically quite well-equipped. A delightful little cottage, roomy, warm and furnished really well. Two sizeable suites of halls, both encompassing a range of different meeting areas, and fitted out with kitchens which are more than up to standard. An expansive, open, and, in some ways, secluded area of gardens, which loads of folk like to enjoy. And a massive car park.

Six separate parts to our premises, each of which would be the envy of many another congregation.

And all on a main arterial route in and out of the city.

I mean, have we landed on our feet or landed on our feet?

But how best to use them? That's the crucial question.

We're grateful for our heritage, the vision and commitment of our forbears in the faith, who've left us with this 'legacy'. We're conscious of our calling, too: the fact that all these premises are very much a stewardship entrusted us by God, and meant, by him, to be themselves the context for his gospel being proclaimed through our community, an asset which is used by us to further all his purposes of grace.

We have that sense of destiny. We have that sense of purpose. We have that sense of this all being siginificant. Danger - God at work!

But as we've prayed and worked at this, the conviction has grown in our hearts that all that God means to accomplish can only be done through our setting aside a person to provide the leadership needed.

Someone with vision and drive: someone with energy, passion and zeal: someone with loads of initiative, someone with good people skills: someone who makes things happen.

For the last 15 years or thereabouts, the Lord has been building a platform. Showing us what can be done.

It would be easy, I think, for us simply to settle right back into routines which now are quite comfortable, things that we've done now so often we could do them I think in our sleep!

But the Lord simply won't let us settle like that. There's a whole lot more he means yet to do. All that the past many years have involved is really no more than a start. A kind of pre-match, warm-up session, to ensure that we're now ready for the action, and can hit the ground all running when the vision, which he all along has cherished in his heart, at last kicks in.

Exciting days, indeed!

But they're days when we're now right out of our depth. And unless the Lord himself is out there on the water with us all ... then, for sure, we'll simply sink!