Fan the flame…

The second part of this morning’s reading in 2 Timothy 1 went like this … In verse 6 Paul goes on to say … For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God…

That imagery of “fanning the flame” screams at me when I think of this obvious move of God that is multi-site church.  Fires that once burned big and bright, if left unfanned (if that’s a word), will DIE and go out.  Not quickly, not immediately, but over time…smoldering, occasionally flaming up, but ultimately going out.  Many, if not most, churches are that way.  They allow the fire to slowly die, stuck in ruts of routine and ritual.  Doing what they do because they’ve always done it that way.  Then, one day, the fire is gone because no one fanned the flame.  No one put any effort into seeing that the fire continued to burn.

Lord, I pray, that Cedar Creek West fans the flame that is the gift of God, that our passion and fire as a church will never die.  I pray that you constantly remind us that you are at work in us and through us, with us or without us.  May the fire that you’ve started at Cedar Creek Church continue to burn brightly in this community and throughout the world for your Glory.  Whether we are one campus or one hundred campuses.