A Church of Seekers

“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love.”
(C.S. Lewis, The Pursuit of God)

The more I think about what ministry life is and what our Church will be, the more I am drawn to the idea that it all hinges on Jesus. “Wow! Three weeks at Harvest School of Ministry and this is the brilliance you come up with!” I realize it sounds so obvious and so simple that we need to pursue Jesus and yet how often today do we sit back and allow teachers, preachers, authors, and speakers do the seeking for us. When church becomes a place where believers are coming and yet not pursuing Christ themselves it becomes a shallow exercise. And a church without life.

Going to church becomes very similar to going to a movie. We chat a bit before hand, watch the show (we are maybe even moved by it), and then spend a short time after chatting a bit about what we just saw. This is not how it was meant to be. Matt Stowell (worship leader at Harvest) was just chatting with us the other day about how the church service is not supposed to be like an event, instead it is to be like a convention. Think about a Plumber's Convention … it is full of plumbers who come and talk about plumbing, hear about different aspects of plumbing, share stories of plumbing … and is a great plumber's convention because they are plumbers before and outside of the convention weekend. The Sunday service is NOT the work … as Matt said, “it is the fire at the center of the factory where we come for warmth, but the real work is elsewhere.”

So what is Church? It is about reflecting a life of pursuit of Christ, the spiritual life. It is a group of believers coming together who have given up everything to seek Jesus. They are intimately connected to Christ and are coming together to worship the one they are pursuing, and to continue to pursue Him. Church then becomes about calling people to a life of a spiritual act of worship, not just a Sunday event.

This life of pursuit (rather than just a Sunday event) is cultivated by putting ourselves in a place of complete trust … which typically only comes when we are putting ourselves in a place where there is a deep need, hurt, or struggle, and you are in over your head as you serve Him … when only God “showing up” brings any answers. We pursue out of a need … if I never step out of my comfort zone will I ever need to pursue God? Put yourself in a place of sitting with someone who is dying, caring for a woman in a pregnancy crisis center, or talking about Jesus to a co-worker or family member and you are now in a place of depending of God … it will promote a seeking heart. You will begin to want to wake up an hour earlier to spend time with Jesus and pursue him throughout the day as you see seek His presence in everything. Now bring together a group of worshippers who are all pursuing in this way and you have a church with life.

When we meet as seekers, God’s presence will be revealed and we will have an encounter with Him. “The Presence and the manifestation of the Presence are not the same. There can be the one without the other. God is here when we are wholly unaware of it. He is manifest only when and as we are aware of His Presence. On our part there must be surrender to the Spirit of God, for His work it is to show us the Father and the Son. If we co-operate with Him in loving obedience God will manifest Himself to us, and that manifestation will be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light of His face.” (C.S. Lewis) This is the church that I am sure we are all praying for in Muskoka. Let’s start now by being seekers.