Let's Step Outside

Committees and Meetings

One of the reasons why the Ten Commandments are so short and to the point is the fact they were given direct and did not come out of committees.

H. G. Hutcheson

Ps 74:2-5
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; And this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt. Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary. Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own standards for signs. It seems as if one had lifted up His axe in a forest of trees. NASU

One of the ways to ensure that nothing will get done in some churches, or in any other organization (like our government), is to assign the task to a committee. Now I have nothing against committees, but I have found out throughout the years that in most cases, the committee was as effective as the strongest member in that committee. If it was something that was only a minor task, it was assigned to a committee that was selected in such a way that there was little leadership and therefore little results.

I’m getting pretty bold here, but if you will look in your church you may probably find the same thing true. The importance of the task, in many cases assured that the people assigned to the task were important people, some “hand selected” for the job, to assure the desired result. We would do well to remember that there is no perfection in our churches, and to remember the adversary also has a plan for “The Church” too.

There was in the Old Testament a tent Moses himself setup on the outskirts of the camp. This tent was called the tent of meeting, Exodus 33:7, and it was set up by Moses as a place outside the camp to meet God. This was not the tabernacle, as some suppose, but a place where anyone could go to meet the Lord. I imagine that many prayed there, for they would in the evenings, watch as Moses spoke with the Lord. The Bible says they would each stand at the doorways of their tents and watch as God Himself condescended and met there with Moses and a “Cloud” hovered over the tent. I know I would have like to have prayed there.

So, there, “outside the camp,” God spoke with Moses, His “Perfect Will” for Israel, and for His people. We must be careful within the Body of Christ to remember where our righteousness or “rightness” comes from, especially when it comes to asking Gods Will for His people. It must remain a seeking of His Will, outside of our desires, and who can lead us there, but the Holy Spirit of God. Let us get outside the camp, for from there we can see better what is going on. We would do well to be reminded that it’s not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, say our Lord, and our God…God Bless.

Pastor William