"Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia". Corinthians 2:12-13
Paul has gone from Ephesus to Troas to preach the gospel. Paul affirms the Lord opened the door for him, and people are responding to the gospel, in droves!
We’ve arrived at a place where the lifting of restrictions has meant many of our churches are able to meet unhindered.
Now that we are here, it’s worth taking the time to reflect as elderships: ‘what doors the Lord has opened?'
Over the last two years, and particularly the last five months, who has responded to the preaching of the gospel?
Who has stepped up and out?
What new initiatives has the Lord opened up in the life of the church?
Doable hard vs destructive hard
For Paul, without the support of Titus, the growth of people and the church (over weeks and months) adds to his sense of uncertainty, complexity, and anxiety. To the point that Paul leaves for Macedonia.
A dear friend once said to me, 'there is ‘doable hard’ and ‘destructive hard’'. Without Titus, Paul can see this ministry would become ‘destructive hard’ and he leaves.
Which raises the question, in light of what God is doing, and how people are responding:
- What’s been 'doable hard' but is now becoming 'destructive hard'?
- How do we better support each other as elders and leaders in this new season?
- What do we start doing and stop doing?
- How do we avoid seeing fellow elders and ministry colleagues taking the metaphorical 17,000 km flight to Macedonia!?
