In the culture around me, there is a constant focus on results. For our sports teams, it is not enough to play well, the focus is on winning the championship. You may have heard the statement, “second place is just first loser.”

In the large city near me, all four professional sports teams are currently toward the bottom of their respective leagues. As a result, they are “rebuilding” and their management personnel constantly encourage the fan base to “trust the process.” They are pleading for patience from their fans because the fan base is conditioned to believe that winning the championship is the only acceptable result.

The same urgency to see results carries over into the church. It is tempting for church leaders to look for the newest technique for getting more people into their services. Delegations are sent to growing churches to see how that growth can be emulated in other congregations. We want to see results to validate that we are doing the right thing.

It is right to want more people sitting under the preaching of the gospel. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to learn from others. But the danger is that we can lose focus on what real spiritual growth looks like and we lose sight of who causes that growth.

I recently heard an interview with Timothy Keller where he made a reference to Elijah building an altar on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20 ff). His point was that Elijah was faithful to build the altar and God was faithful to send the fire. Elijah could not directly cause the fire to come down. God did not send the fire before the altar was built.

From this story, we learn that we are called to be faithful to do what God has called us to do. Having done this, we can trust God to bring about the result that he desires.

Here are a few suggestions about how we can “prepare the altar” in the same way Elijah did:

• Regularly read your Bible while asking God to show you what you need to learn from your reading
• Regularly pray – The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 shows us the balance between inward and outward focused petition
• Study the Bible with other believers with the focus on transformation rather than just information
• Volunteer to serve at your local church or community group – make yourself available to be used by God

By doing the things that God calls us to do, we are then in a position to be used by him to accomplish is purpose.

Also, we must see where our responsibility ends and where we need to trust God for the rest. Failure to define that point will lead to frustration and exhaustion. Paul made such a distinction when he wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

If you have any other ideas about how we can “build the altar” please add them using the comment form below.

In the United States, there is a political divide that is palpable. Left and right spend little time in real dialog and a lot of time shouting across the divide. Sadly, the church has not been unaffected by the rancor.

It may be hard for you to get your head around the fact that you may go to church with people that voted for the other candidate, the one that you strenuously opposed. You might be tempted to doubt the sincerity of the faith of someone who voted against who you think was the better candidate.

Perhaps Paul offers us an antidote in the verses quoted below.

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4, ESV)

We are to pray for “all people”, even that candidate that is so disagreeable to you. We are to pray for those who voted differently that we did. We are to pray for our elected officials even if we did not support their candidacy and especially if we disagree with their political agenda.

It is so easy to get caught up in the labeling of other people. Adjectives like liberal, conservative, progressive, left-wing, right-wing, etc. carry so much baggage, always oversimplify and are not very helpful. The fact that I have encountered this type of rhetoric in the church is lamentable.

In the church, we must keep in mind that we are not called to support a political agenda. Our agenda should be defined by the command to make disciples of Jesus Christ. We may disagree on what the government should be doing with regard to any number of issues, but every Christian should agree that the government is limited in how much good it can do.

The government is limited in how much good it can do because it can only alleviate some of the symptoms of what is wrong with the world. But one does not cure the disease by seeking relief from the symptoms. To cure what is wrong, the disease itself must be attacked and conquered. It is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that can transform a heart. And heart transformation is the only thing that will begin to address the problems we see around us.

Rather than getting all worked up about your Christian brother who has a different idea about what the government should or should not be doing, why not offer to pray with him. If you are both believers, what you have in common should be so much more powerful than the issues over which you might divide.

By praying together, you will stop seeing your brother as the enemy and become unified in confronting the real Enemy.