CenterPoint Church

I pray each of you are sensing the excitement as we come closer to our Soft Launch Date, and then looking forward to weekly services.  I personally have felt a real momentum building as we are very close to securing a 'home' for CenterPoint and also as we continue seeking God's guidance in our relationship with Converge Worldwide.  With God as the CenterPoint of our vision/mission, any and all things are possible.  What an exciting place to be! Prior to September 14th, we have some great events planned.  Next weekend is the First Annual Camping Trip of CenterPoint, organized by Dan and Laurie.  What a fantastic opportunity for a great time of fun and fellowship.  The following weekend on Sunday, August 31st, we will again gather at the Erickson's for a Lake Baptism, along with an afternoon of fun, fellowship and, of course, food.  So, put those dates on your calendars and we look forward to seeing each and everyone of you!

 

As I was contemplating everything that needs attention and will take place prior to our Launch, I can really put my mind in motion and sense "busyness".  Just looking ahead to fall and 'schedules' spells busyness.   For those of you who know me, I tend to keep busy.  And, if there is anything in my walk with the Lord that has needed His shaping, it would be not only giving more priority to my time in the Word and prayer, but time "Abiding in The Vine"........meditating and listening......being and not doing!  John 15:5 states, " I am the  vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in Him, will bear much fruit.  For apart from Me, you can do nothing."    When you think about it, if anyone could understand the temptation to let busyness distract Him, Jesus certainly could.  Yet, His priorities were always the Father's priorities!    The priority was the relationship, not  the activity.  I believe somehow we get the impression that we have to be constantly laboring for the Lord in order to meet God's high standards(?).  Jesus gave a clear picture of what our relationship to Him ought to be like.  He is the vine, the source of life itself.  We are the branches, the very place where fruit is produced.  As we receive life from Christ, the natural result then would be that fruit would be produced and evident in our lives.

 

I think that in our 'great intentions' to produce this fruit for the Lord, we can become so focused on the fruit production that we neglect the source and the very thing that brings it about, abiding in the vine/Christ.  We may think that abiding isn't productive....after all, look at what the world feeds us continually.  Somehow, selfworth has become a direct correlation and product of our busyness.  However, Jesus continually tells us that it is not the activity, but the relationship with Him, that produces the fruit.

 

Jesus gave an important warning to His disciples.  He cautioned them that if they ever attempted to live their Chtistian life apart from an intimate relationship with Him, they would soon discover that they weren't producing any significant results.  They could, in fact, exert great effort for the Kingdom of God, yet when they really stopped to account for ther lives, they would look pretty barren and empty.  Mark 11:14 gives the account of Jesus cursing the fig tree that had failed to produce fruit.  That had a dramatic affect.  The question that then faces each of us is:  are we comfortable in abiding, or do we find it necessary to be constantly engaged in activity?  A great harvest will result if we choose to abide in the Vine.  Isn't that what we as the CenterPoint Church Family want as our goal?.....to bear much fruit?!