Air-traffic controllers are sometimes forced to ground a plane. Sometimes there’s a problem with the
tower, sometimes it’s the plane’s systems that are malfunctioning, and sometimes the skies are just not safe. Something sure to keep a plane at the gate is the forecast of weather perfect for icing. Should a plane attempt to take off and ascend through twenty thousand feet of freezing rain, enough ice could form on the wings and on the air-intake system, causing the engines to stall and the craft to roll or pitch uncontrollably, leading to a fiery crash.

Churches long to see lift in their life and ministry. Bodies of believers don’t want to waste away at the gate or taxi anxiously year after year after year. We want to be moving in an upward trajectory and travel to our destination, fulfilling our commission. But sometimes it seems as though air-traffic control has grounded our jet and delayed our flight. Something’s wrong and we’re left to wait on the Lord for a resolution to the problem. Because as much as we dislike having to wait; it would be far worse to lose everything in a crash.

A worldly perspective and a culture rooted in wrong thinking can be very much like freezing rain falling on a church’s life and efforts. Should the church attempt to take off in any direction in these conditions, the prospects for a successful flight are quite dim. Until the “weather” changes, everything’s grounded. One of the prevailing problems for the church in the West is its perception of itself. When a Western Evangelical Christian thinks of church, what is it that he conceives in his heart? What image comes to mind? Is the church a place or is it a people? Is the church a construction or a living thing? Is the church a meeting or a way of life? These and other questions like them are key in the work of assessing whether or not any church is ready for takeoff or doomed to twiddle its thumbs. The growth of the house church movement here in the United States and around the world has been the catalyst for some important conversation and introspection by those of us in the traditional church. One of those spurring the church on in this consideration is Wolfgang Simson. Some time ago, he published fifteen theses on the subject and I’d love to consider his thoughts together with you. Please take a moment to read these very provocative and stimulating ideas and come ready to share what you think. We’ll have a pot of coffee on and some baked goods set out to greet you at the door. Join us this Sunday at 8:30am, upstairs in the Family Life Center – God bless your reading!

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