A belated post

It has been too long since I have posted. So much has been going on. I have been very busy, but that is no excuse for not stopping in and sharing some thoughts. I did not say so then, but the last post came from a hotel room in Tokyo. I visited a university there, and also spent three days at a company in downtown Tokyo. It was a very productive visit, and part of the reason I have been so busy in the three weeks since. I came away with a lot of work, which is not always easy to accomplish during the 9-5 workday.

At church, the kids' vacations mean that we have had a few weeks with missing band members. This limits some of the music we can perform, but since performing is not really the goal, we get by. I know God hears the full complement of musicians every time we sing His praise.

Now that the update is finished, main reason for this post is to talk about Church. The Church that is. The Body of Christ. We the Believers. A very disturbing statistic was released in a Sunday Message on Easter Sunday no less. Of the 86 people joining our local church in the last four years, there were 82 transfers and 4 new confessions of faith. 4. Four! In four years! That's one per year. Thats pathetic. We are failing at the Prime Directive (No Captain Piccard, not that Prime Directive!) You might already know it:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

If you aren't familiar with this passage, it is often referred to as the Great Commission. This is the last thing Jesus said to the Disciples when He appeared to them after His death and resurrection. It is what most Christians point to as the fundamental mission of the Church. It is (or should be) the fundamental mission of the church too. The local church. My church. The church responsible for a whopping four new believers in the last four years.

Well, I don't have any answers now, except what we are doing now is clearly not getting it done. It is often said that the definition of insanity is to continue the same behavior and expect different results. I do know that the insanity is going to change soon. I don't know how, but I know that I will not experience much Shalom until I know in my heart that I am doing everything I can to fulfill the Mission.

Still, for you I hope for shalom.