Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 1 Timothy 3:14-15
“From this day forward, I would like you to think of your local church as an aircraft carrier. Unless our churches assume the rightful and biblical positions in the battles we face in the workplace, we cannot fully advance. It’s only as the carrier arms, equips, briefs on the battle plan, fuels the jet and then launches the pilots out on their mission that they assume their maximum dominion… Unfortunately, many of our churches operate like a cruise ship. Think about it, what do you do on a cruise ship? You go to be entertained, you eat a lot, there’s very little accountability. And think about a cruise ship: it goes out, hits a couple of points and comes back to the very same place – rarely advancing forward into new territory. If the enemy of our souls can disarm the carrier, confuse the pilots, break the catapult system, then we essentially continue to function as a cruise ship… God may very well be asking you to be a catalyst for work life reformation in your church. The church is not a cruise ship but an aircraft carrier.”
David Spada as cited by Amy Sherman in Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good (Downers Grove: IVP, 2011) 101.
Coming off the Global Generosity Roundtable, at which Amy Sherman was among the participants discussing what it means to live with financial health and understanding, I must say that I can’t get this illustration out of my mind.
The church is not here for entertainment but to work in various fields on mission. God made us to work, and He re-made us to work differently than the world, so people see Him through us as workers. It’s a facet of our generosity.
The difference is not the job we work, but whether or not we take a generous, missional approach to it. What changes would your church need to make to shift from a having a cruise ship mentality to an aircraft carrier mentality?