What kind of image do you think of when you think of the church?  I want to give you three images that I believe are accurate ways of thinking of Christ’s church that will protect us from many of the pitfalls.  We live what we believe.  If we believe incorrectly about the church we will behave incorrectly.

Therefore, I would love for God to burn these images into the minds of everyone at Foothills.  Let’s briefly look at each one.

1.  First the church is a battleship NOT a cruise ship.  A battleship is all about the mission.  It follows the orders of the commander and chief.  The crew is willing to make sacrifices and endure hardship for the mission.  A cruise ship is all about comfort.  This is not what the church is about.

2.  Secondly, we are Pioneers not Settlers.  Pioneers are on a journey.  They endure hardship and take tremendous risk in order to travel to their destination.  They don’t stay in one place very long.  They are constantly on the move.  This is the church!  We are on a journey.  The journey requires great faith and risk.  The destination we are traveling to is worth every bit of effort!

3. Finally, we are to be rivers that channel the resources of God NOT reservoirs that try to stockpile the resources of God.  We should never worry about running out as long as we continue on the mission and commit to the journey.  God never runs out; never has a recession, and is looking for people to channel His unending resources through.

My prayer is that Foothills will continue to grow and become ever more like these images.  God will continue to do supernatural things as we continue to trust Him, follow Him, and think correctly about Him and His church.  May we be God’s battleship in this battle.  May we embrace the journey He has us on in this geographic area.  May we trust Him enough to be rivers so He can continue to bless us with the resources necessary to accomplish all he has called us to do.

Thinking correctly about His church,

Pastor Dale