Biggest need in church

  I had a good brother make an appointment with me yesterday to ask me that big, sobering question.  He wanted to know what I thought the church's single greatest need was.  How would you answer that?  It is hard to settle on just one response, isn't it?  You could say "leadership."  You could say "belief in the inspiration and authority of scripture."  You could say "more commitment."  But, what do you think of this answer?  Our greatest need is divine dependency.
 
When setting our church budgets and personal budgets, when planning our lives, when seeking to save the lost, when considering church leadership, when approaching the Bible, or any other matter, do we rely more on self or God?  Spiritual growth, it seems to me, is interconnected with a growing dependency on Him.  It is how we survive the storms, cull sin out of our lives, reach out on those limbs of faith, and leave our comfort zones to perform greater service for the Lord.  If we limit ourselves to just what we can see and produce, we will dream and act so small!  If we include God in our plans or, more accurately, if we insert ourselves as tools in God's hands to accomplish His plans, we will accomplish to His glory far more than we ever imagined.  Paul said, "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" (Eph. 3:20).  Fill a church with people who are painfully aware of their limitations and God's limitlessness, then turn the world upside down!  He will not penalize or punish us for tapping into His reservoir of blessings and resources!  He will show us just how much we can do when we totally, utterly depend on Him!

Neal Pollard