It’s great to be asked to contribute this article to Preach magazine to share something of what I think God is saying to the church and its leaders at this time.
As we entered 2021, I had a sense of God giving his church a set of keys. Being physically locked down does not mean we are spiritually locked down. Keys unlock doors. In fact this year, I believe we will see more doors unlocked than in previous years as we join him in the work of rebuilding church and society. So, with this conviction in mind, I asked God to show me the names of the keys.
This too will pass
Key 1 is called Hope. Friends, this is a season and seasons end. It’s the law of nature. Winter has turned into spring outside. As leaders we are bringers of hope. That is what we do. We lift people’s eyes up to see the bigger picture.
Even beyond the hope that the vaccine is being rolled out at a great pace, even beyond the hope that restrictions are lifting, there is the deeper hope that God is on his throne as head of his church and he knows exactly what he’s doing. I believe he has a bigger agenda than ours: bigger, deeper, more profound and wider reaching. A shaking of all the scaffolding of church that is unnecessary and bringing front and centre what really matters – the mission of God. And with that filter of God’s mission, there is tremendous hope. Three and a half million people are reported to have started praying since the pandemic started. There have been 5,000 online Alpha courses.
