An Open Letter To Our Cell Group Leaders

Cell groups have started and the new ministry year has finally begun. Firstly, let me say that I am thankful for the commitment of our cell group leaders - let it always be to Jesus and his mission. I anticipate both a challenging and an exciting year as we look to bring a renewed vision of Jesus and His mission to our church. As I shared on Sunday, renewal comes when we are grounded in the gospel of the the Lord Jesus who died for my sins, who rose from the dead, who today rules this city and my world; renewal comes when we begin to see that Jesus calls us to a bigger vision in life and ministry than our narrow vision ... the people in this city and the world is our mission; renewal comes when we rely on, depend on, seek, and wait on the power of the Holy Spirit to empower us to accomplish his vision and mission through our lives, in this city and in our world. We need all three - a clear gospel, a wider vision, and the power of the Spirit. My prayer is that God might be so gracious as to do just that for me, for you, and for the people under your care. Pray with me, for me and for each other, and for our people. It's what we need.

Secondly, let me say that I'm looking forward to leading our Tuesday evening cell group leaders fellowship this year. I know that we're all busy with ministry, but I hope you'll see coming on Tuesday evening as your time: your time to sharpen yourself and others; your time to chill, relax and share with other leaders; your time to be renewed personally for life and leadership. My prayer is that you'll come and leave energized, excited and empowered for Jesus and his mission.

We'll be meeting up as cell group leaders starting this month on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at church, with our first get together on the 12th (next week). The program for us as cell group leaders on Tuesday will generally be a simple one - we meet at 8pm sharp and will be finished by 9.30pm. They'll be a short teaching segment that I'll take (1/2 hour); they'll be small group time (guys/girls) to think and work through the implications/relevance of what we might look at (1/2 hour); and then 1/2 hour of praying over what we've explored, for ourselves, and for people in our cell groups.

Thirdly, let me say that I'll be praying for you these few weeks as your cell groups start. May you know the leading and power of the Spirit, as you follow Him and as you lead others under Him.

Water, Church and Ministry

This morning I was at my local coffee shop reading and thinking about ministry. Felt the need to re-read a book titled, 'Aqua Church' by one of my favorite authors, Leonard Sweet. Been thinking about the 'church' recently. What does it mean to be a church where Jesus is at the center leading, directing, shaping, molding, modeling, instructing us? I hear people pray that all the time, that our church might honor Jesus, or that our church might have Jesus at the center. What does it actually mean?

So much of what we do seems more 'human' led rather than Jesus led. Like most churches, I suspect our ministry is filled with countless meetings where decisions are made, where church plans are discussed, where Bible studies are run, where leaders are trained, where evangelism is carried out. The question that's constantly on my mind is, 'where is Jesus in all of this?' Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that ministry = meetings. Run enough meetings, pump out enough paper, organize enough events, keep the wheels turning each week, and we fool ourselves into thinking that we're doing ministry.

Someone forgot to tell us that the church is not a business, a committee or a company, but a people that Jesus has saved and gathered around himself; that he's transforming and leading. The church belongs to Jesus and it's His mission and vision we serve. Leonard in his opening chapter points out that our mission is to lead people to water i.e. to Jesus. I'm not always sure whether we're leading people to water whether it's those who belong to the church or those still on the outside.

When was the last time you attended a meeting at church whether a cell group, a committee meeting, a music team practice, or even a worship service and thought to yourself, 'man, that was refreshing ... I came and I met Jesus today'? Like the words of that song on what's at the Heart Of Worship, 'it's all about you, it's all about you, Jesus'. I wish I could say that about every single one of our meetings at church. Unfortunately, it's not always true at church. The Psalmist tells us to 'taste and see that the Lord is good' and that there is 'blessing for the man or woman who takes refuge in Him' (Ps.34:8). Our mission is to lead people to water i.e. to Jesus. We need water and so do those on the outside.

Our problem is that sometimes we muddy the water in our meetings because the cups are dirty. And when you muddy the water, it's difficult to convince people to drink from it, because all they see is a broken and dirty cup. Even worse if people actually drink the water, instead of an experience of Jesus, what they get is an empty, draining, often lifeless experience of church. Or maybe sometimes the cups are not dirty, but just unattractive, so they obscure the pure refreshing water on the inside.

As I was reading Aqua Church, it was also made clear that if you notice something about water ... it's liquid. It's a liquid that fills the shape of any container. The main thing is to trust the water. Don't tamper with it, don't muddy it, don't dilute it. The content always remains the same - the same Jesus yesterday is what I need and what people need today. When it comes to church, people need water, but the containers might need changing. Perhaps what the church needs is a different container. Leonard writes that,

"Every generation needs a shape that fits its own hands, its own soul. Each generation, every person, needs a different handle from which to receive the living waters of Jesus. Our task is to pour the living water into anything anyone will pick up. By 'anything' I mean that literally: anything. If I want to reach my twenty-second century children with the gospel of Jesus, I must be prepared to to pour the living water into containers out of which I myself would never be caught dead drinking. This is what Paul meant when he talked about our "becoming all things to all men" that we might win some (1 Corinthians 9:22)"

Perhaps what we need is not just more of Jesus, but different containers in the way we do church that will help people drink from the living waters of Jesus. Maybe what we need is not just new wine, but new wine skins as well in the way we do church. Ours is an ancient faith, a well of living water that has been running a long long time. There's nothing wrong with the water, it's the containers that need changing in our generation.