Wow, I was so blessed by David’s “world” that I’d like to expand the vision to the church.
In my world, the church would be a place in which Jesus is the one Truth that gives meaning and heart and healing significance to all other truths.
In my world, church potlucks would not be so dependent on luck and there wouldn’t be any fake meat that has the texture of dog food.
In my world, the church would be a place people run to rather than run from, because rather than finding socio-economic cliques, hair-splitting controversy, and condemnation there, they would find open arms and all the help they need.
In my world, the church would not major in minors, but rather would allow for liberty where Scripture is silent or unclear.
In my world, the church would be a place in which the conservatives are conservative with regards to themselves and liberal with love and acceptance toward others who don’t agree with them.
In my world, the church would be a place in which the liberals would apply their liberality as a practical expression of love toward others while not attacking the generally agreed-upon doctrines of the church.
In my world, Seventh-day Adventists would not be regarded as legalists, because our preaching and teaching would be so filled with the good news of salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ, that we would have never earned such a reputation.
In my world, Seventh-day Adventists would not merely be known for their day and their diet, but for their exaltation of Jesus as the central feature of their faith.
In my world, the church would be a place in which Jesus is so beautifully and clearly preached that obedience to God’s law and victory over sin would rise from within rather than being imposed from without.
In my world, the church’s magazines would have better graphic design.
In my world, the music sung by the church would be vibrant, enthusiastic and alive with adoration for God, regardless of the period from which the music is dated.
In my world, Sabbath school classes would be evangelistically sensitive to the presence of non-members and would study the Bible in English rather than in Adventese.
In my world, no church would have lime green or flaming orange carpet from the 1970s.
In my world, people who gossip and backbite would be as eligible for church discipline as those who commit adultery and rob banks.
In my world, Seventh-day Adventists would not merely be known for their day and their diet, but for their exaltation of Jesus as the central feature of their faith.
And in my world, I would be discerning enough to recognize that I am as much a part of the problem as anybody else in the church and would apply all of the above to myself.
What would the church be like in your world?
Ty Gibson
Ty is a speaker/director of Light Bearers. A passionate communicator with a message that opens minds and moves hearts, Ty teaches on a variety of topics, emphasizing God’s unfailing love as the central theme of the Bible. Ty and his wife Sue have three adult children and two grandsons.
