Famous football coach Vince Lombardi once said to his team in the locker room after some sub-par playing, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” What Coach Lombardi was speaking to was clear–to carry out our assignments, we must understand and succeed at the basics.
The basic building block of life is DNA. As we watch CSI, we understand that you can tell where someone was when you get a little tiny hair from them…because it contains DNA. We* have co-opted the initials DNA to be an acronym for the basic building block of church life.
Divine Truth
Nurturing Relationships
Apostolic Mission
Divine Truth
Where God intersects with humanity and sheds light on who we are and what reality is—both in the spiritual world as well as the material. It is a union of both human and divine but without any blemishes. It is the Word—both in the person of Jesus and the Scripture.
Nurturing Relationships
A building of spiritual family and brotherhood (brethren if you please) based on a love relationship with our Father and His Son, Jesus.
Apostolic Mission
By “apostolic” we mean sent. That’s what the word originally means “sent one.” The church is to be a sent agency, not a sending agency. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” (John 20:21)
So we want to make sure that our life springs from this building block> the interlocking of Divine Truth, Nurturing Relationships & Apostolic Mission. We want these to be present in us as individuals, as groups, as house churches, as a network of house churches and beyond.
We see this represented in Jesus’ “Great” teachings:
Divine Truth—The Great Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mt. 22:37-38)
Nurturing Relationships—The Second Greatest: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Mt. 22:39)
Apostolic Mission—The Great Commission: Go and make disciples of all the nations. (Mt 28:19-20)
This is a football…well…a return to the basics…what does the Spirit strike up in you as you pursue balance in the basics?
*This is from the Organic Church Planters Greenhouse Story 1 Training (c) 2001 by Paul Kaak and Neil Cole/CMA Resources.