The Church ~-.-.4 &* - It'p uju Speaks EDITOR'S NOTE: The Whltby Free Press is re-lntroduclng -The Church Speaks" a column written by local members of clergy. This is a free service of the Free Press allowing these ministers to present their vlews on many contemporary seculas and clerical Issues. If any reader has question for any of our wrlters they are asked to submit them ln wrlting ln care of the Editor, Whltby Free Press, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, On- tario LUN 5S1. By Rev. W.W.Wyrlck Evangellet Every local church is headed in some direction, but not al are foliowing the directions set forth by Christ. Is your church headed in the right direction? Let us suppose that Jesus Christ attended the next board meeting of your church, and He tells the board what He expects of your church. How do you think His plans for your church would compare with those set forth by your church leaders? The question that every church member should be asking is, "What direction is my church taking?". On a long range basis, if Jesus tarries, where do you expect your church to be next year? In five years? In ten years? Jesus said, III will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16 :18). In other words, His church would have a tremendous impact upon the world. If Jesus is allowed to have His way in building a local church, nothing can stop that church froin having a dynamic impact upon the community. A local church can determine if the Lord is building it by comparing its present direction with the direc- tions given by Jesus Christ. one one occasion, the twelve disciples were concerned about getting lunch after a long journey to a Samaritan city. Upon returning with food for Jesus, who was talking to a Samaritan woman, they found that Jesus did not need it. He replied, "My meat (food) is to do the will of Hum that sent Me, and to finish Ris work" (John 4:34). Then He told them of a greater con- cern than any earthly care: "Say not ye, there are yet for months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harveat" (John 4:35). They could see no evidence of any immediate harvest of any crops, but Jesus told theni that the evidence was everywhere for a much more important har- WIIITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, J ULY 23,.!Q80, PAGE 19t The church should be Hleading in the right direction vest 1 His disciples learned that there is always a niorc important concern - the spiritual needs of others. Jesus taught that their direction in life must always be toward thie spiritual harvEýb'. Considering the total program. of your church, is the overal thrust toward a spiritual harvest? It is so easy for a church to be preoccupied with activities, meetings, socials and the like, Giat the spiritual harvest is sadly neglected in the community. Too 0f ten the program of a church places undue emphasis upon keeping its members happy, and out-reach efforts are minimized. There is not one verse in the Bible commanding the lost to go to chu.rch, but there are a number of verses commanding the church to go to the lost. Jesus' last words on earth charged Ris followers to witness first in their own coin- munity (see Acts 1:8). Every local church must realize that it God's chosen instrument to enter into the living harvest of its commumity and reap souis that are ready for harvest. This is the right direction for your church 1 The harvest in any community requires the participation of laborers. No fariner in his right mind wll att-empt a harveat with broken down machinery, and Christ sees to the spiritual equipping of Ris laborers. The church is a training school for spiritual farming. By the way, how many classes has your church graduated? Does your commumity accuse you, as they did Paul, of turning it upside down? (see Acts 17:5-9). One of the greates problems facing tlhe local church today is the unemployment problem. Most churches are packed with idie laborers who are hoping that someone will reach the lost masses in their community - they do not who or when or how, and some couldn't care less! Christians are trained in various and sundry areas of Christianity, but most have little or no ex- perience in reaching the great harvest before them. Is your church headed in the right direction? It ail depends on who it listens to - the Lord Jesus Christ or men. If the chur- ch heeds the Great Commission of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20), it will train for, and participate in, a glorious spiritual harvest. But if the church listens to men, the thrust will be inward only to the satisfaction of the members temporal wishes rather than outward to the eternal needs of a lost community. Is your church headed in the right direction?.