When my daughters were learning to drive, I remember starting one of them on a manual. It lasted about fifteen minutes. In a moment of frustration she said, “there are too many things to do with your feet.” I knew at that moment she was not going to learn and we went back home. To me, driving a manual shift vehicle was second nature. I had driven tractors. My first car was a Ford Falcon with three on the tree. Once mastered, shifting is important but does not remain the primary thing on your mind.
I have paid attention to the discussion concerning the upcoming vote at our Triennial Convention in August. While the proposed changes to the Declaration of Principles and the by-laws are important, they ought not be the primary focus of our Convention. I have my own opinions on these matters, but please note that I am not arguing for or against these proposals. These are driving a manual transmission issues. God will still be at work in and through the Advent Christian Church no matter how the vote turns out.
As I think about what is primary in the upcoming convention, I see three things:
“Jesus replied ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’” (Matthew 22:37-39).
As we gather, our first priority is to love the Lord with our all. We gather not just to do business but to worship, to fellowship, to grow, to serve, to be encouraged and to be moved. We gather to love God and, because of our love for him, to bless and encourage others. The consequence to loving God is loving one another. Loving others means knowing when and when not to say some things. Loving others means considering others better than ourselves. Loving others means giving grace. And loving God and others leads to the other two things I believe are central, and primary, to this Convention.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me,” (John 17:20-21).
Jesus valued, and prayed for, our unity as a part of the body of Christ. As we gather and vote on important, but not primary, issues let’s do so with an attitude, actions and words, that convey our love for and unity with one another. Our being one is more important than the vote going your way (whatever your way may be). Being one affects our praying, our service, our mission, our evangelism and our local churches.
“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,” (Matthew 28:19).
Our primary mission is to make disciples. Making disciples includes winning the lost, growing believers and planting new churches. If there is one thing I believe needs to be the focal point for our Convention, for our future, it is for us to become a church planting movement. This focus is, in many ways, a return to our roots. Advent Christians were founded on the emphasis of Jesus’ Second Coming. What came with that focus was disciple-making, evangelism and robust church planting. Our future depends on church planting. Take a look at what God is doing already in our replanting efforts! We are stronger as a body of believers because we are planting new churches. This does not mean we ignore our existing churches. Our conferences, regions and denominational offices are active, and stand ready to come alongside of local churches to help them fulfill Christ’s mission where he has placed them. We are simply acknowledging and committing ourselves to making disciples, which means planting new churches.
Between now and the Convention I am asking you to fast and pray for our time together. Pray for the love of Christ to be evident. Pray for unity. Pray for God to use our time together to pour out on us a fresh passion for making disciples, evangelism and church planting. My dear church family, I look forward to our loving each other in August.
