What do A/V technology and wood-working have in common? Their users often develop an obsession with tools and not the end result.
Over the past several years I've become interested in working with wood. My first project was an end-grain cutting board made from mahogany and walnut. I actually made it for my wife as an anniversary gift to illustrate that two things, though very different, could make something very beautiful when they are placed together…like us. Ok, ok, cheese-fest is over.
The thing I've learned from woodworking is that you have to keep the final goal in mind from start to finish. Sure, you'll make mistakes along the way, but the final goal must always stay in view. The funny thing is that I would often take my eyes off the goal and focus too much attention onto the tools I was using. I love tools, and I would sometimes get so sidetracked that I would spend hours tweaking my hand planes or looking for new tools to help me reach the goal “more efficiently” or “faster.” It ended up being a huge distraction in the end.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. - Romans 1:16
As techies, we often fall into the same trap by taking our eyes off the end goal and wasting time tweaking our tools obsessively.
So what is our end goal? From a bird's eye view, we can say that we are to love God and love others as Jesus commands in Mark 12:30-31. To hone this down to a little more detail, I believe we can say that the end goal is the Gospel. Because of the Gospel, we love God. Because of the Gospel, we are empowered and enabled to love others with the love of Christ. The Gospel is the focus, the pinnacle, and the highest priority. It causes disruption in souls, brings conviction, leads to repentance, turns hearts toward God, gives life, and it sustains. This is the message God entrusted to us, the Church, His bride. Paul tells us in Romans 1:16 that this message, the Gospel, holds the power of God for salvation.
Two categories of people show up in our local churches each week. The first is people that have entrusted themselves to Christ by faith in His Gospel. Something unique happens when this group of people gathers together. Ephesians 4:11-16 describes this. It tells us that Christ himself gave teachers, pastors, etc. to equip His people so that the Church may be built up, unified, become mature and grow in the fullness of Christ. The picture given is one of a body, joined together by different parts and ligaments, growing together and working together. Our tools just aren't good enough to create that kind of movement and momentum in the body of Christ, only the Gospel can when it is at work individual lives.
The second category is the unbeliever. To loosely quote William Temple, the church is the only organization in the world that exists for the benefit of those outside itself. Here's the rub: for this group of people, “the message of the cross is foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The Gospel, to them, is absurd and foolish by nature. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us that the god of this world has blinded their minds. Sounds a bit like a hopeless task we are given, huh? Here's the thing, if you read the story of anyone whom God called into a relationship with Himself, it is always God who initiates. It is always God who helps the non-believing person to see the glory, grace and mercy of the Gospel. We cannot do that no matter how finely tuned our tools are…but we can pray for it.
Let's be quick to call our technical teams to prayer each week before run-throughs and services begin. Let us come to God in our need for the Gospel --- to have it work in all of the people that come through the doors. Let us be intentional in our prayer for the work and movement of God in those that do not know Jesus. Then, let us go on in our daily lives to seek the power of the Gospel and to seek opportunities to tell others of the goodness of God and live lives on mission for the sake of the Gospel.
