THOUGHT - The church is an army

The church is sometimes likened to an army. Armies require leaders, but they also require initiative from the troops.

When Germany decided to invade France during the Second World War, their mechanised forces and mobile infantry swept across the border and cleared major obstacles like the River Meuse very quickly. The French (and to some degree the British too) responded sluggishly and without flair. Because of this they lost the battle and northern France was quickly occupied.

The underlying reasons are interesting. They are relevant to church life, we can learn something useful from military history.

Organising an army - I've been reading 'The Battle of Britain' by James Holland. He explains that the French system didn't train the troops to use initiative. They were merely expected to obey orders. A plan would be created for the coming battle and orders were passed down the hierarchy. Everyone had detailed instructions to follow.

In contrast the German army gave people objectives and expected them to use whatever method they wished. A small group of infantry might be told to take out a bunker and would decide for themselves how to go about this task using whatever resources were available.

Both methods work well if everything goes to plan. But in battle things rarely go to plan! When it's necessary to respond to a changing situation the German approach works far better than the French system.

Organising the church - In the church, we should expect Jesus to guide us and provide us with objectives. But we should also understand that he expects us to use our initiative. He doesn't want to micromanage us, rather he wants us to become familiar with some guiding principles and use them to achieve the objectives he gives us. The guiding principles include such things as love, gentleness, grace, humility and patience. The Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ) will show us what needs to be done as and when we need to know. Sometimes his guidance will be very specific, but often he will expect us to achieve an end without giving us the specifics. He uses the two together as required.

For example, 'Make disciples', is a command but we have to work out how to achieve it. Sometimes he might tell us to speak to a particular person or share a particular story or do something practical or pray for healing. But in general we know we need to patiently love and pray people into the Kingdom.

How does this work out in your own experience?