Shifting and sinking sands
“My hope is built on nothing lessThan Jesus’ blood and righteousness;...On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;All other ground is sinking sand,All other ground is sinking sand.”
Politics is about gathering as many people as possible around a big idea. As hard as leaders work to build a constituency, why aren't we more committed to its preservation? It seems leaders make two big mistakes.
Mistake #1: We treat the original big idea as assumed. We take it for granted. Everyone already agrees, right? But when people stop talking about the big idea that unites them, they start forming alliances around lesser things. Before long, the original big idea is forgotten and the confederation is fractured.
Mistake #2: Our original big idea wasn't so big after all. If recruiting efforts include threats; hypocrisy; or manipulation through fear, anger, cynicism, and false promises; you can bet this is at the root.
Churches make both of these mistakes. Jesus built the church around himself. He is the Rock, the Alpha and Omega, the Head, the one who says "Come, follow me." Here's the problem: some local churches were built from the start around something else—something less. But even those churches that do gather in Jesus' name tend to neglect the obvious. Jesus may be central in faith statements but not in what people actually experience. So, people fixate on lesser things. And fuss about them. Even leave over them.
A few years ago, my wife and I would take our boat over to the south end of Topsail Island. There was a large sandbar there and we headed straight for it. Then one year the sandbar—the thing that attracted us—was gone. We haven't been able to commit to another spot since.
For Christians, Jesus is the Big Idea. He is (should be) the attraction that draws Christians together. When he's taken for granted—when he's no longer the light that illuminates everything else—people will disconnect. And they may not reconnect anywhere for a long time.
