View from the balcony

In our equipping leaders group yesterday morning we discussed the analogy of the balcony in which leaders are charged with the task of getting the bigger perspective from the balcony rather than just making decisions from the day to day responsibilities of the floor. As we were discussing this important and challenging work of leadership, we landed on the reality that at least when it comes to ministry or church work there are probably two balconies leaders need to access. The first is the balcony of your local church or faith community- this community will have its unique story or 'dna' regardless of whatever else is happening culturally. Leaders that can access this balcony view are better and more informed leaders; people also appreciate this informed leadership much more! The second is the balcony of the Big Church, or the kingdom, or the world, or whatever you want to call it. Without the larger perspective of what God seems to be up to in his world, we will mislead our churches and ourselves. Years ago the 'experiencing God' series raised this idea in a personal way for many people- what does Jesus seem to be doing and how can you join the movement? Now, we're essentially asking the same question and applying it to the faith communities throughout the world- what does Jesus seem to be doing throughout the world and how can we join the movement? The question seems simple enough but unfortuantely confusion can abound. One glance at a Christian bookstore or an online sampling of church books from Amazon or a reading of blogs from Christian leaders reveal several different, and at least at the surface contradictory, movements. Issues such as the role of women, the work of the spirit, the authority of Scripture, the ideas of free will and election, what works the church ought to do (internal vs external), the uses of church finances, and other issues such as these might be pointing at some bigger shifts. I'm interested in learning more about this balcony perspective and what part Hillcrest will play in it in the future.