Don't neglect your first love!

We had a great first workshop meeting last night - it was great to see 17 people pack out a room at church - looks like we're gonna need a bigger room!

Here's a recap of the teaching that we looked at last night.

We asked the question "What is The biggest mistake church planters make?" In their zeal to pursue the Great Commission, (go into all the world and make disciples) they ignore the One whom they’re planting for - God. The Great Commission minus the Great Commandment (love the Lord our God) reduces evangelism to a vocation, challenge or duty. The deep motivator for what we do must be a deep love for God (adapted from "Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts" by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum)

Andy Stanley says "It is always a mistake to decide what you want to do before you determine who you want to be on the inside." God tells us who we're to be in the form of the Great Commandment:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)

A probing question: "Are you a church planter trying to love God, or a lover of God trying to plant a church?" If we don't love God, how can we expect to attract people to follow Jesus - we'll be no different than anyone else?

Mistake #1 - Neglecting the Great Commandment in pursuit of the Great Commission

The Fix

Luke 10:38-42 speaks of two women, Mary and her sister Martha who have an encounter with Jesus. Martha is consumed by all the preparations needed and get indignant that her sister Mary is just sitting at Jesus' feet and not helping with the work. Now, I'll admit that Martha often gets a "bum rap" and we need to be diligent if we're going to accomplish anything. But Jesus says that "Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken from her." It has to do with perspective - there is a time when we need to simply commune with Jesus and put aside all the other good things that occupy our lives.

Revelation 2:1-4 is a letter to the church in Ephesus commending them for all the good things they have done. It sounds great up till the point that Jesus rebukes them for having lost their first love. Ouch! We need to be lovers of God before we are servers of God.

“It doesn’t matter how hard you work or how passionate you are about planting a church; if you forget the power behind the plant-you’re doomed to shrivel up and die on the vine.”

Let’s look back at the second greatest commandment which in Mark 12:31 comes right after the greatest commandment. “Love others as God has loved us”. This also includes our family - Don’t plant a church at the expense of our marriage or family. Let’s not be a church that our kids learn to hate because we're not there for them. Let's hold each other accountable on this point.

We need to be growing in the Lord apart from the church plant. Think about the potential effect on us as many non-believers and de-churched people come into our lives. In order to effectively help them, we need to love God, love each other and be strong in the Lord.

Well, that's a quick recap of what we talked about - many shared how God had spoken to them and I'm excited to see how we grow as a group!