From John White at House Church Chronicles:
The "prevenience model" for church is illustrated in the Old Testament.
"Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped…Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in the camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. (Numbers 9:17,18,22)
The cloud = the physical manifestation of the presence of God (see Mt. 17:5)
The Tent = the Tent of Meeting. The place where the people assembled to meet God. (Consider 1 Cor. 14:26: "When you come together…" or "When you assemble…")
God (represented by the cloud here) is always the Prime Mover. He is always the Initiator. He is always proactive. He is always prevenient. He is always "before".
The people of God are always the responders. Their job description is simple: "WATCH THE CLOUD. If it moves, then you move. If it doesn’t move, then you don’t move. No matter how long it takes – two days, a month or a year." For some of us, learning how not to move is much harder than learning how to move.
Sounds un-American, doesn’t it? Our culture says, "Be proactive! Don’t just sit there – do something! Make it happen!" And that culture is reflected in the church.
The values of the Bible are different. "WATCH THE CLOUD. Do what it does." God is God and we are not. It’s His church, not ours (Mt. 16:18). He is building it and we are not (although He does let us help out some times).
The church that God is restoring is more than a church that meets in the home. Its a church made up of people who are getting really good at WATCHING THE CLOUD. And responding appropriately.
Comments
4 responses to “Watching the Cloud”
Wow! In a fairly short blog, John has captured the moment of my life….I am watching the cloud. Now I might be able to explain it a bit better when someone asks me “so what is it you are doing in ministry now?”
My Prayer is that I may continue to get better and better at simply watching and responding appropriately to the cloud.
Roger, thanks so much for the encouragement and the word from John White…who has coached me so much through his articles on the dawnministries North America home page in the past, without even knowing it. May Father continue to bless you guys in your efforts to help the church BE THE CHURCH again!
Keep Watching the Cloud my brothers!
I get what’s trying to be said. Find out what God is doing and join Him kind of thing.
But I have a bit of a problem with that as a “standard operating procedure.” The apostle Paul didn’t seem to follow this all the time. He didn’t wait around. He was always trying to “make something happen.” But while he was doing that, he was also very open to God changing his plans. Seems to me that he had the best of both worlds…watching the cloud while he was on the move. Active watching?
I too like what John has to say in this and appreciate his insight. Historically, we have been more of a “build it and he will come” church, than a “I will build by church” type of crowd.
I believe Mark makes a good point. But, I think it is probably best considered at the individual level. If I have a propensity toward waiting, I may need to learn to be more proactive. If my propensity is toward being proactive, I must practice waiting more often. To approach it in this fashion is to come in weakness and to allow the Holy Spirit to lead.
Now, pardon me while I go back to practicing my waiting… :+)
Blessings to all,
Hutch