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Purpose Construction |
Caye Caulker, Belize, Central America
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.—Acts 2:42
Priorities
Grow on God's word and prayer
Gain disciples with God's love
Gather into God's family
Glorify God's name
Our
priorities are the above 4 G’s because the tree of life grows in all
four directions. It begins at the cross, where Christ turned curses into
blessings and evil into good. The cross is where our old life dies and our
new life begins. The cross becomes a tree of life. Picture a cross taking
root and growing two horizontal branches and one vertical one (see
diagram). The roots are our hidden life in Christ, our private life in the
word and in prayer and in living waters of the Spirit (Psalm 1:3).
The strength of the tree depends on the depth of the roots. The branches of a tree are actually a mirror image of its roots. The vertical branch reaches for light as the roots reach for water.
The water is the Spirit and the light is the Truth. We can see the upward vertical branch as Worship, for true worshippers worship in Spirit and in Truth. The deeper we GROW into the word and prayer, the more we will have to GLORIFY God for in outward praise and worship.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit...my command is this: Love each other as I have loved you" (John 15:5,12).
All of this is very practical. If we’re really growing in vertical relationship with God, we’ll grow in horizontal relationships with others. The higher and deeper a tree stretches, the broader its reach. The right branch of the tree of life is to GATHER with believers and the left branch is to GAIN more disciples for Christ. "And the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations" (Rev. 22:2). The leaves are spiritual gifts and the fruit is love. And the flowers are wild spurts of creativity. The most healthy tree has balanced, flourishing growth in every direction.
Healthy trees multiply until there is an orchard. In this way we want to see generation after generation of responsible, empowered leaders who produce healthy families with God-given callings to their communities and nations. See also Leadership Training link.
