The Center of God's Plan

This past weekend I had the privilege of sitting in a 3-hour session with Ed Stetzer at the ACE Conference. I wish I would have had internet access because I could have twittered at least half a dozen quotable statements throughout the morning. Instead only the most poignant of quotes have remained in my mind as the week goes on. This one in particular: "The church is not the center of God's plan, Jesus is. The church is central to God's plan." This quote has created a tension in me with a phrase that I have heard in multiple places this week: "The local church is the hope of the world."

Each time I hear this latter phrase my heart sinks a little, fear floods my body momentarily, indignation stiffens my neck. Immediately my spirit cries out "Jesus Christ is the hope of the world!" Honestly I know that none of those saying that the church is the hope of the world would disagree with me that Jesus is the hope of the world. Some might add to my statement, Jesus Christ is the hope of the world, 'through the local church!' However, in the many settings in which I've heard that the local church is the hope of the world only one person specifically recognized the power of the Holy Spirit to bring resurrection and restoration to the world. Maybe I missed it in the other places because of my reaction, perhaps it was there, but the focal point seemed to be the church, not God. Granted these articles were about the church in our culture so maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree.

But here's my concern: Are we (as the church) taking credit for God's work in the world? Have we become so church-centered that we have pushed Jesus out into the margins? Stetzer said, "The church is not the center of God's plan, Jesus is. The church is central to God's plan." I'm afraid that we read that, quickly agree with it, and fail to stop to consider the ways in which we act as if the church is the center of God's plan. So, even though you can jump back to the previous line and read it again I am going to restate it:

"The church is not the center of God's plan, Jesus is. The church is central to God's plan."

I wonder deeply in my heart if the reason that I resist the statement that 'the local church is the hope of the world' is because of how poorly we as the local church often reflect Jesus Christ. To be more honest, it is conviction by the Spirit of how poorly I reflect Jesus Christ. And so I return to the verse I quoted earlier this week (here in the NASB):

^{"But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Cor. 3:15-18)}

My prayer is that I would increasingly reflect the very same image of our God, the creator, the redeemer, the restorer of all life.

Eugene Peterson identifies for me the hope of the church in his interpretation of Ephesians 5:25-26

"Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness."

May Christ's love make us whole. May God, bring out the best in us and make us mirror images of His glory. Shalom!