Singing Oaks has just begun a new season with Grow Groups meeting, the return of Wednesday night meals (Can I get an AMEN?), new teachers in Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, and Adult Ministry, kids moving into new classrooms, and new opportunities to serve at the Salvation Army, Arms of Hope, Walk for Water, and even a new Prowell baby coming to a nursery near you soon! We are, as a church family, brand new and shiny!
The promise of newness is the ability to grow. First, we have to let go of the pain, stress, and fear that seems to overwhelm us and stunts our hopes and dreams for ourselves and others. This morning, for some reason, my brain kept replaying the theme song from the Disney movie Let It Go. Elsa has to let go of her fear and control in order to grow. When Elsa finally lets it go, she’s able to love her family, friends, and kingdom.
Similarly, we see so many examples in the Bible of people who’d rather hold onto the stress in their lives than live into the kingdom of God. When Moses is trying to control it all, he is stunting his own growth and his community’s growth. When David gives into his lust, he ends up hurting so many people when he could have been looking for ways to bless his kingdom. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ruth refuses to be controlled by Naomi’s fear and instead is determined to grow in love. Because she sticks to God’s faithfulness, she becomes the Great-Grandmother X 27 of Jesus (I think I counted correctly).
What if we decided, as a church, to not be afraid to grow? What if we gave up our old ways and said yes to the new? What if instead of living into the story of the fall of man and woman in the Garden of Eden, we lived into the story of God’s infinite blessing? I think we are more comfortable with being sinful than being blessed because we are accustomed to the abuse we inflict on ourselves and others. What if instead of “humbly” acknowledging we are never going to be perfect, we instead proudly live into the blessing God intends for us, his beloved? Personally, when I live into the blessings, instead of the lies, I am a blessing to others and to myself. Before we are able to truly grow spiritually and numerically, we have to admit to ourselves that each new day is a new opportunity to say yes to God’s love for us, and get over trying to control everything because we are afraid.
Growing isn’t easy. It’s kind of painful sometimes. It takes commitment, discipline, and humility. Believe me…I’m writing this down for myself as well as our church family. Growing causes discomfort, “enlarged perspective” (thank you Ross Thomson), and new problems, but it’s the right thing to do. If you are having a difficult time coming to terms with growing in our church, it’s probably because you are too comfortable with the sin and stress in your own life. It isn’t about your love for the church or for God, it’s about you. Let it grow.
