Owning the Local Church

When Amber and I were first married we lived in Lexington, Kentucky. She was a graduate student at the University of Kentucky. I was an accountant. We knew we weren’t going to live there after she graduated and we didn’t have much money, so we rented an apartment. It was a nice place. The thing I remember most is the view of miles and miles of horse farms from our third story window.

We took care of the apartment. We kept it clean and didn’t do any damage. It was quite some time ago, but I don’t think we were allowed to paint the walls. No putting up or taking down ceiling fans or light fixtures would have been tolerated. It wasn’t my responsibility to paint the white fence that bordered the edge of the property. And we certainly didn’t make any renovations. It would be quite silly to invest too much time and money in a place that we didn’t own.

The first house we owned was in Dallas, Texas when I served at Lover’s Lane United Methodist Church. The house was about 40 years old. Only one family had ever lived there. After the previous owners moved out and we moved in, they occasionally came back to visit us (although I think they were much more interested in visiting the house since we didn’t know them). The house was well taken care of, but needed some updating. We tore up the carpets and finished the hardwood floors. We tore up the linoleum and laid down new tile. We peeled off the wall paper and painted the walls. Amber, Benjamin, and I spent an inordinate amount of time at Home Depot discussing (or arguing, depending on your worldview of the English language) wall colors. I stained our fence. And, I even joined a homeowners group because I wanted to improve the neighborhood we lived in.

I know, and I know that you know, that there is a big difference between a renter and an owner of real property. The same principle applies to the church. I think we have renters and owners. Most of us start out as renters. It is understandable how the renter isn’t willing to invest too much time and energy into a ministry that they don’t own. God meets us where we are.

But God loves us so much that He doesn’t want to leave us where we are. His desire is that we become owners of His church. I pray and I hope that you see the church as yours! I pray and I hope that together we are students of Jesus, laborers in God’s vineyard, and investors in the Kingdom of Heaven. I passionately believe that if we all acted as owners of the church that we would be different, our families would be different, and our world would be a little different. I encourage you to invest in the church, invite others to worship with us, serve each other and serve hurting people, and grow closer to God and to others.

In Christ,

Craig