Building The Wall

The Aerial View

Jim Moerman

It happens every summer. An over-confident hiker plunges into the woods, fully expecting to return to the starting point by nightfall. But somehow he gets disoriented and loses his way. By nightfall, he collapses against a towering evergreen and slides to the ground—exhausted. Burying his face in his hands he cries out in frustration, wishing it were possible to get an aerial view of his position—for then he would know exactly which way to go.

Exactly three years ago today, it was my turn to plunge into the forest. I admit, I was confident—perhaps overly so. And so for three years I’ve been trudging through the woods of this ministry to the Regional Synod of Canada. At times it’s been frustrating. For the first time in my life, I think I’ve felt exhaustion. But in those desperate moments when night is falling, there has been an aerial view that God has given me time and again, lifting me up to see where we are—and where we are going.

The picture is one of healthy, radiant, glowing, and growing congregations in every classis, where the individual people who make up those congregations are born again in Christ . . . and dead to themselves. They are normal, balanced, whole people who live normal, balanced, whole lives. Their lives exude the fragrance of Jesus Christ, a fragrance that has always been irresistible to those who live with darkness, futility, and death. As new people join their churches, they are quickly accepted and folded in, more and more and more and more, until it becomes necessary to reproduce the church—either in worship services, in cells, or in daughtering a new congregation.

In a pregnant phrase, the picture is of healthy churches: Radiant in Christ, Reaching others and ultimately, Reproducing.

The most gifted and godly of

these radiant believers are asked to serve on classis and regional synod working committees. They are men and women of prayer who know the favour of God and the favour of the people. They don’t need to control others or shout "follow me." It is sheer delight to work with them because there is a oneness of spirit and purpose. Meetings are fruitfully synergistic and the Holy Spirit is wonderfully present.

These working committee groups "do the right things" and "do things right." They "do the right things" in the sense of capitalizing on what God is doing, going where God is leading, and entering the doors He is opening. They also "do things right" by working with utmost diligence and attention to detail. Sin, Satan, and Self keep us from doing the right things and doing things right. The result is chaos and evil of every sort.

Can you see the aerial view? These churches are churches God can use to His glory in reaching our nation. An evangelical network of radiant churches is going to grow and, by the grace of God, take back some turf from Satan’s neighborhood. A theologically soft and slip-sliding network of churches is doomed to lethargy and endless quibbling about peripheral things.

In recent years, you’ve heard about an array of different ministries and events in your classis and regional synod. The table on page 6 names some of these ministries, states their focus, and shows how they relate to the aerial view.

These ministries are continuing and are parts of the whole. We must now do the work of prayer and ask God to increase our radiance in Christ, our success in reaching out, and our opportunities to reproduce. In the future, you’ll be hearing about these and other strategic initiatives, including "Parent Church Networks"; "The Ethnic Ministry Centre"; "Arise and Shine Ministries"; "Church Planting Fuel—Drive 25"; and others.

So as you hike through the forest with us and may occasionally feel disoriented or lose sight of the forest, remember to look up—way up! Ask the Lord to give you an aerial view of where we are—and where we’re going by the Grace of God.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you." (Isaiah 41:10) Yes Lord, help us.