[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-fault-line":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-fault-line-surround":66},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":11,"columnName":49,"date":50,"description":17,"extension":51,"image":52,"meta":53,"minRead":54,"navigation":55,"path":56,"postType":57,"publication":58,"publicationUrl":52,"seo":59,"stem":60,"topics":61,"__hash__":65},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-fault-line.md","The Fault Line",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10],"Acts","1 Corinthians",{"type":12,"value":13,"toc":45},"minimark",[14,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42],[15,16,17],"p",{},"Last March I traveled to Seattle, Washington, to speak at Puget Sound Christian College. Shortly before I boarded the plane, airline personnel announced that the flight had been cancelled because Seattle had experienced a serious earthquake. Fortunately, despite a lot of property damage, it wasn't a catastrophic quake. I was even able to fulfill my speaking engagement by flying to Spokane, then traveling with a church group across the state of Washington.",[15,19,20],{},"Back in Indianapolis the following Sunday, I mentioned the earthquake in my sermon, and quoted one fellow I had seen interviewed on a TV news show in Seattle. He had been fixing the roof on a skyscraper when the earthquake hit. He said it was like standing atop 30 stories of Jello!",[15,22,23],{},"Later, I received a note from Vonda Gilley, an administrative assistant who serves on our church staff. She said, \"We are a church on a fault line.\" When I asked her for more explanation, here's what she wrote:",[15,25,26],{},"“You know the geological use of the term, right? A fault line is the line of demarcation where two land masses divide and the potential for those plates of land to shift is most likely. Well, I envision our church standing on a fault line, with one foot on the edge of two different 'land masses.' Those two plates of land are: old\u002Fnew, 20th century\u002F21st century, those who are slumbering\u002Fthose who are awake, the way we used to do things\u002Fthe way we need to do things—you pick the metaphor.”",[15,28,29],{},"“I like the 'fault line' phrase because it is so easy to find fault with either the old way or the new way, but when the ground starts shaking, a shift occurs. Eventually people's perspectives change and sometimes they even have a renewed joy for life! That's how I see us as a body of believers. We're on the edge of great growth, opportunity, and outreach, but (to me) it seems we're still waiting to be moved.”",[15,31,32],{},"Vonda is right. The church stands at a crucial point today. Will we allow God to shake us, shape us, and send us to speak his word boldly? That's what happened in the New Testament when God's power shook the earth and his gospel shook the world (Acts 4:31). Or will we be content to live on the fault line—unsteady in our walk with God, unsure what we believe, always \"waiting to be moved\"? We can't live forever on the fault line. It's too much like shifting sand.",[15,34,35],{},"In my garage at home, I keep a little collection of license plates from cars I've owned through the years. My favorite is from a car someone drove long before I was born: a rusty old 1925 license plate I found in a closet in the farmhouse where I grew up.",[15,37,38],{},"The license plates in my garage have proved very durable. Some of them still look pretty good, but there's one problem. None of them give me the right to drive my car today. Can you imagine the look on a policeman's face if he caught me driving around with a rusty 1925 license plate attached to my car?",[15,40,41],{},"The Bible says, \"Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love\" (1 Corinthians 13:13). Core values like these are marks of a Christian—tags that show we belong to the Lord. But do they really describe the way we live our lives? Are they just rusty remnants of the past, mere plaques we put on the wall? If you're a healthy Christian, you'll put faith, hope, and love to work right now, in the community where God has placed you, with the people he has given you to serve.",[15,43,44],{},"No local congregation is without fault, but no matter how much time goes by or how much the world changes, healthy churches will always be growing in the faith, hope, and love that spring from a living relationship with the unchanging Christ. We'll never find any fault in him.",{"title":46,"searchDepth":47,"depth":47,"links":48},"",2,[],"First Look","2001-10-21","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-fault-line","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":17},"articles\u002Fthe-fault-line",[62,63,64],"Church Leadership","Biblical Theology","Spiritual Formation","dinl6Nj6GCRn_qY4jG_fP_bJYAGLRbAwbmFw-1r1tXE",[67,72],{"title":68,"path":69,"stem":70,"description":71,"children":-1},"The Extravagance of God","\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-extravagance-of-god","articles\u002Fthe-extravagance-of-god","Have you ever praised God for his extravagance—his willingness to grant blessings far beyond what we deserve? \"God loves a cheerful giver\" because he is one himself. He's the God who gives the second mile—filling nature, the church, and our individual lives with unexpected abundance.",{"title":73,"path":74,"stem":75,"description":76,"children":-1},"The Fields Come First","\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-fields-come-first","articles\u002Fthe-fields-come-first","Proverbs 24:27 says, \"Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.\" Now, at first glance that seems like a strange piece of advice. Whether you're a farmer or a city-dweller, you need a place to live. Shouldn't you take care of your own house first, before working in the fields?"]