A reason for the season.
Not long after we were married we found ourselves in a church which was looking to send a missionary congregation into an Anglican church building which was in danger of being made redundant. The then bishop was keen to hand the building over to another faith group and this brought forward the suggestion that we send in a team to refurbish the building and build a Church within it.
My other half went off and spent time in prayer over whether or not this was where God was calling us to be. During one of her prayer sessions she came up with some verses from Joshua concerning the entry of God's people into the promised land and how the Reubenites went with them and saw them into the land but did not settle. This was God's word for us. We were to go and battle over the building and the establishment of a congregation but we knew we were not going to be settling in that place.
As things transpired we didn't need to decide to move on, this decision was made for us by the death of my father and our subsequent move away to be nearer my mother Other times, this is not so clear cut and we need to be looking and listening with spiritual eyes and ears. We need to be aware of the season (kairos) that is for us the right time to flower and blossom where we are and to be ready, when this ends to step back or move away. We also need to realise that the inbetween time (chronos) is a time when we might merely 'be' and whilst not doing anything major, we do a major thing by remaining.
There are times when we have been greatly used and need to realise that there is a new (or just different) group of people coming through and that they are called to take the baton from us. Sometimes we can do this and continue to be present and others our presence becomes a hindrance or stumbling block for the church and for God's progress. When this happens the need to discuss (and pray) this over with friends you trust (spiritually as well as confidentially) and to take this to the leaders. If you are the leader, then you take it to friends and colleagues or mentors and seek their advice. Many a good work has been damaged by staying just that moment too long or by being a stifling presence.
There is validity in seeking a move that will bring you good teaching and solid fellowship but a general principle I was given by a very wise Welshman is that you can never go back. Often when this position in our life is reached we look for the security of the familiar, meaning the church from which a plant came or the previous church to the one you're considering leaving, but this is rarely right. We need to look for the security of God's presence and the assurance that we are moving to the right place.
There is a dignity in dreaming dreams and withdrawing from the battle's heat but there is a need for maturity to make that move. This might not be instantaenous and it might not be easy, after all jeremiah 29:11 says:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
And these came in the middle of a seventy year captivity in Babylon!
Did i mention that patience is a key element in moving. Taking time and prayerfully considering the what and the what might be is the only way we can avoid the repentance and the isolation that hastily decided moves regarding Church (and just about everything else) can bring.
Pax
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