“First Chinese Baptist Church of Phoenix” tells anyone that we are a number of things. We are, at the very least, a group of Christians that meet together in the city of Phoenix. We have a belief system that follows the Baptist denomination. We are, probably, made up primarily of ethnic Chinese individuals. Beyond that, who are we?
In the Book of Revelation, the church of Ephesus is said to have “lost its focus…and “first love.” The church of Laodicea was described as being “lukewarm” and neither hot nor cold. Let us consider, for a moment, how others might view FCBC and describe us? Which descriptions would you choose for us to be known as?
1) “Left Its First Love”
2) Comfortable and Secure
3) Financially Stable and Predictable
4) Bold and Risk Taking
5) Careful and Selective
6) Burdened and Creative
7) Significant and Adventuresome
8) Non-threatening and Courteous
9) Honest and Offensive
10) Safe and Traditional
11) Generous and Sacrificial
12) Others?
Who are we and who do we “hunger” to be? The Scripture challenges us to “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” It may be “safer” to stay in our homes and church buildings in order to avoid the problems of life but, in fact, our greatest impact is found in how we make decisions and engage life and people. When we think about Jesus, he impacted people not because he remained in an environment of security, but because he dared to boldly push forward, questioning the values of his society and world. Let us pray for clarity and the courage to push beyond our own “comfortable Christian bindings.” The church must be the church and that is us!