What Provo is Teaching Me (II)

Personal reflections in a public space are a difficult thing. We've all got that friend on Facebook who seems to think they're writing in their private diary, but at the same time, i think i'm learning some things that are worth sharing, but i guess that'll be up to you to decide!

In Provo i learnt that the Gospel is our only hope.

Ok, so i knew this already, but it's easy to lose focus on that isn't it? Mormonism is a dense plot of thorns and the Gospel is the only sword that will cut through them. It's easy to think that to introduce Mormons to the Gospel you have to go for the jugular on some of the things they believe. But you don't. The truth speaks for itself, it shines the glory of God out for those that will see it. Obviously there is a huge need for culturally sensitive outreach, for well thought out apologetics, but only if they flow from and to the Gospel.

In Provo i learnt Church planting is hard, so we need to do it.

It's not just Provo that needs a Christian church. It's Francis, and Heber City, and Park City, and South Summit and the innumerable communities that line the interstate on the way to the airport. Church planting out there is hard. It's not just that Utah is full of Mormons, it's also that there just aren't that many churches there. In fact, leave the Bible belt, and there aren't very many churches anywhere. Plant a church 'out west' and you'll probably be up against it. But this is Christianity isn't it? We move away from leisure, like Christ, so that others can move towards God. We who are rich become poor, so that those who are poor become rich.

In Provo i learnt If you're good enough, you're old enough.

You don't need to cross an age threshold to serve the Lord. You just have to have a heart for God and people. Cities need churches, and we need to produce the men who are going to plant them. We might be the men who are going to plant them. Logan and Grayson discovered their passion, and lived it out.

Jesus never leaves us.

Jesus' last words in Matthew are so precious. I will never leave you. On the plane, i'm with you, when you knock on a door, i'm with you, when you have a difficult conversation, i'm with you, when you're discouraged, i'm with you. I am always with you. Beautiful.