Prepared

My father served 20 years in the United States Air Force, joining at the age of 18 and working in the Strategic Air Command on B-52 bombers for his entire career. As I grew up on various bases following dad around the states, my appreciation of the structure and organization of the military and its effort to accomplish the vision and purpose it was created for grew as well. Granted there were times when it appeared that everything was pretty casual and unfocused, especially if you happened to walk into dad’s AMMS hanger when they were planning the week’s softball game, or just drinking coffee. But in spite of that relaxed attitude, it was an amazing thing to watch the entire base respond in a matter of minutes to an alert that required every plane to be off the ground almost immediately, with all personnel at their posts ready to do the task they were trained and prepared for.

It was during such quick responses that I realized every individual not only performed their assigned duty with the intensity of the moment, but that such performance could not have taken place if they had not constantly worked to keep themselves and their equipment in a continual state of readiness. Their seeming inactivity only masked the consistency of their preparation. This ongoing state of readiness became evident whenever a drill – or a real crisis – presented itself.

As we learn to follow Jesus, the Lord of the harvest does not call us to a gathering of casual non-participation. Instead, He calls us to take part in a process of preparation that equips us to do the work of the vision of the church. We are called to be prepared for His direction, whether it’s when we meet together or respond to a crisis in the lives of others.

Each of us fulfills a necessary function within the structure of our church, and without the contribution of every member the witness of God’s reality will falter and not achieve its goal. Scripture describes God as “building” His church and setting every “stone” in its prepared place as He establishes a “dwelling place” through which He can impact the world one community at a time. You and I play vital roles in the purpose of our church and we must work at always being ready through the preparation of discipleship and personal commitment to the vision God has birthed in our hearts!

How exciting to be His people,
Pastor David Vanderpool