Sunday, October 22, 2006 10:39 PM
to my beloved hillsong cg:
I'm sure by now you guys know that we have got a situation here in cg, a situation that is not normal and wasn't meant to be. I'm not going to talk about the why, what and who in this. It pains me so much to see such conflict happenning but still it's not totally unexpected. It's not unexpected because a cg is a place where imperfect people come together and
try to live with, learn from and love one another to the best of their abilities. Because of this layout, it is inevitable that people
will get hurt. Expectations will fall short, people will be misunderstood, and conflict will take place. There is not a single chance that these won't happen.
What we can manage is how we react to these problems. One way is trying to take matters into our own hands and then break down. Another way is to go to God first, talk to Him, pray for yourself and the other side, ask God to bring change, get into His grace, go in His strength and then go speak to the person.
We are all imperfect people here. Anyone who has attended a cg meeting will know that. What I am asking from you guys is understanding. Understand that the person next to you, above you are all imperfect and so are you. Everyone from the leader to the newest member makes mistakes. I'm asking for all of us to keep this fact in mind. God did not come to condemn the world but through Him that the world might be saved. Since God did not come to condemn people so neither should we. Another thing we must remember is that from the leader to the youngest member, all are equal in God's eyes. He shows zero partiality. It is written that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If God did not love us enough to save us, we're all going to hell together. So
no one has the right to have a holier-than-thou attitude. Let's put a stop to this.
We are all in this together. We come bringing our problems and burdens. We have our struggles and weaknesses. Lets continue to support and carry each other through our tough times. I sincerely believe that God did not place us in the cg by chance. He did not go "oops" in heaven when he was planning this. He did not close His eyes and choose who will be with who. If we don't watch out for one another, who will? The people outside the church probably can but they won't bring you closer to God. The people in other cg's probably can but it's only a matter of time before the same problems happen again. Let's not put our faith in another leader or another person or another system but in God. Leaders will let you down but God won't. Listen, learn from and follow the leader God places in your life but never put the faith and expectation that should be reserved for God, in the leader.
Let's continue to be a cg of encouragement, love, understanding, support and forgiveness, where every single member though very imperfect, can find acceptance, belonging and a people they can turn to in times of need. Nothing is too great to be forgiven and no member is too imperfect to be accepted.
Let's not let the devil pull us down, this is obviously his work. The trademarks are all there. Isn't it funny how this happens right after we managed to breakthrough in cg like never before? Isn't it funny how he attacks the people closest to our heart with such things? The last thing i want is to let him win. I don't want him to sit back and laugh, "haha.. i managed to break up the unity in God's house by turning one against another."
Let's be a cg of brave people, people who won't cut and run once problems occur. Let's be a people who instead of pushing the blame around, cover each other's faults and weaknesses. Let's be a people who genuinely love. Let's be a people of forgiveness, how about that?
In our next cg meeting, we're going to continue the series about having a heart for the poor. Whether you're as pumped up about the message as i am don't matter. What matters is you come. I believe that it is imperative that in times like this that we stay united and in close contact. I'll see you guys on tuesday.