God is original. Is your church?

God may not duplicate a method to accomplish his will and his purpose through his church. You will notice in scripture that God rarely accomplished his purpose in the same way. For example, when the children of Israel left Egypt by crossing the Red Sea, Moses raised his arms and the water parted. When the Israelites came to the Jordan River to cross into the Promised Land instead of arm-raising by the leader, the priests first had to put their feet into the water before the swollen river parted. Same purpose, different method. Also, consider when Jesus healed the blind: one he touched, another he spit on, and another he spit on the ground and then put the mud on his eyes. Same purpose, different means. Regarding the salvation experience, Jesus said to Nicodemus that he had to be born again but to the woman at the well he said she had to drink living water. Same purpose, different words. My contention when it comes to church is that God uses different methods and different means to accomplish the same result, seeing lives changed. More than anything church should be about the business of changed lives. While only God can do that, he can use us to accomplish his purpose. How God accomplishes that purpose will be unique to each church. All too often churches and their leaders will copy what another church is doing. I don’t see God doing any “cookie cutter” ministry in scripture. While many things are similar, God is about new. God seems to have a unique and original plan to accomplish his will and his purpose.

About Rick Ezell

I am a husband, father, pastor, and writer. This blog is about shaping character, transforming church, and impacting culture. I believe that if one defines their moments then their moments will determine their character and their character will influence their world. I write on personal development, church leadership, and our changing culture. I also write about the resources I am developing and the books I am writing. My goal is to create challenging, relevant, and inspiring content that will help you be a better person, the church be a better parish, and the world a better place. If you are interested in those things, this blog is for you. I have served the church my entire career as a student minister and senior pastor. I studied at Samford University, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (eventually I will get it). I have written eight books. My most recent ones are Chapter 13: The Excellence of Love and Soul Therapy: The Healing Words of Psalm 23. Both are available as eBooks. I have written over 1000 articles for various local, regional, and national publications. I have been married to Cindy for thirty-three years. We have one wonderful daughter. We live in Greenville, SC. In my free time, I enjoy writing, reading, running, tennis, and golf. You can contact me via email or follow me on Twitter or Facebook. This is my personal blog. The opinions I express here do not necessarily represent those of my employer. The information I provide is on an as-is basis. I make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this blog and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its use.

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