One of the reasons we named the church “Antioch” is found in the story of the church at Antioch going to prayer one night and then giving away Paul & Barnabas to missions the next day. It was as if they sent away their Senior Pastor and Senior Associate Pastor all at the same time. (Can you imagine a church doing that today?)
Anyway, we want to emulate that faith and “take the best of what God gives us and be willing to give it away.”
God has really been putting me to the test on this…
It’s hard to give things away that are valuable. To share, to affirm, to send, to reveal and to help is often counter-intuitive.
What has been amazing, however, is how God seems to open doors every time I give something away or act outside of my concern for myself or our church. It’s like a ping pong ball that comes right back at you.
I don’t know all the things God has planned for us (and a part of me is really scared to know), but I am becoming more confident that at every junction there will be an opportunity for us to consider the Kingdom of God above our own church. There will be opportunities to take the best of what God gives us and be willing to give it away…
