A Church 'Crowd' Pt 2
29 September, 2010
Moving forward from my last post, many of you know that on top of being a church leader, I am also a sports lover. What I’ve learned in my years of watching and attending countless sporting events is that the mentality of a crowd can be fickle
To read part one 'The Mentality of THE CROWD vs The Spirit of THE CHURCH' click here.
Moving forward from my last post, many of you know that on top of being a church leader, I am also a sports lover. What I’ve learned in my years of watching and attending countless sporting events is that the mentality of a crowd can be fickle - but the ‘crowd’ that gathers on a Sunday in church, or at a week-long conference, or in a crowded city connect group with the ‘Spirit of the Church’ has great purpose!
The Bible gives us so many examples about the difference between the spirit of a crowd and the spirit of the Church. When a crowd is simply just being a crowd, they can so often be full of conflicting opinions and attitudes (Luke 19.37)...one moment, the entire crowd can be cheering the referee for a great decision and the next they are shouting him down and trying to run him out of town! Though the Church worldwide carries many different opinions, the spirit of it is consistent and accommodating, mindful of others and has an attitude that puts YOU and YOUR CHURCH before ME and MINE.
The mentality of a crowd can be stingy, but the when the Church is being the Church, it has an increasingly generous spirit. Sporting crowds can be so loud, boisterous, full of dissention, not conscious of others, and brimming with differing opinions – yet opinion doesn’t build anything. Matthew 27 shows us how crowds are easily led to poor choices - they follow trends and reach out for what is popular; whereas the church is called to move towards the down and out, those who are lost, the unlovely, unpopular and the broken. When the church is being the church and not just being a crowd, they are resilient, focused on the goal, loyal and undaunted by the challenges and even persecution that they can often face.
Throughout the years, I have had the privilege of participating in some of the largest conferences across the globe and also some of the small, grassroots gatherings of newly planted churches. What our own team is doing right now in NYC is building connect groups, taking their faith to the street and starting with nothing but a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Just last month, in a small apartment in Manhattan, I gathered with dozens of people – excited, expectant and alive with anticipation. Now, this little apartment may have been ‘crowded’, but inside that crowded apartment what I saw was the Spirit of The Church!
Let’s never take for granted the PEOPLE that God has entrusted to our leadership, and lets never fail to see the INDIVIDUAL in a crowd. When the Church is BEING THE CHURCH (and not just being the church crowd) we will see a momentum and a spirit that attracts others and gains Godly and unexplainable influence.
I pray that this week as you gather anywhere in the name of Christ, in large arenas or backyard gardens, that you will gather with the ‘Spirit of the Church’ and receive a renewed vision and passion that impacts people for years to come…
Where we are going is not where we have been before…I can’t wait.
Love, Brian
For more information on Pastor Brian including resources & upcoming itinerary please visit brianandbobbie.com
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