The Main Thing

roof of church with a cross and a blue sky to accompany blog post from New Hope Presbyterian Church in Castle Rock, CO

“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others . . .

not dominating, but helping and serving.

It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ,

to exist for others.”

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

At its worst, the Church acts like any other institution that thinks its first priority is to conserve and perpetuate itself. When survival is the primary concern, all other activities serve that concern. Serving others becomes secondary to serving itself. When that happens, it is only a matter of time before the needs of people take the back seat to the needs of the organization. Regardless of what the sign says on the outside, it has stopped being a Church.

 

At its best, the Church gathers, organizes, and focuses itself in order to serve others. That is when it keeps the Main Thing the Main Thing.

 

The Habits of Hope include Gathering, Praying, Serving & Learning. All are essential, but the one that sets the course, is Service. Without it, people and churches can too easily stray from the One who washed his disciple’s feet. The true test of a Church is not its size, but its heart for Service.

 

Question:

What helps you keep the Main Thing the Main Thing?

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