“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (I Corinthians 3:10-15)
When the housing bubble burst, many construction crew walked off the job leaving houses across the country uncompleted. Houses where a good foundation had been placed could still be built on that foundation as the concrete should not be hurt by exposure to the elements. Houses that the framers had finished and were properly dried in can probably be completed with little or no reconstruction.
Unfortunately those that had not reached that stage will probably have to be torn down to the foundation and restarted because some of the exposed lumber will have warped and split until it is no longer satisfactory. It may cost more to salvage than it would to have started over completely.
In the church, the foundation is already there. It was properly laid by the apostles and prophets and is impervious to the elements. While there are many who say a new foundation is needed, they are usually just trying to make some extra profit for themselves. As Paul said, there can be no other foundation. The problems are not with the foundation.
It is critical that the framers get the house framed and dried in as quickly as possible to minimize damage and distortion resulting from exposure of the materials to the elements. Church planters and missionaries who do not move the church quickly toward true autonomy run the risk of distortion with the church becoming dependent on others for support or doctrinal guidance. While the church may grow in size, it becomes spiritually weaker because they have not learned to trust God to provide for support of the church and pastor. Forty years later such churches may still be dependent on other churches to support them.
Frequently the framer will also do the finish work on a house. Once the house is dried in, his efforts are no longer primarily as a framer, but as a finish carpenter. He exchanges his framing nailer for a drywall screw gun or finish nailer, and his skilsaw for a miter saw. In the same way, once the church is established, the church planter or missionary moves to being a pastor. The requirements of the job, while closely related, demand focusing on different details, and a different approach than that of a missionary or church planter.
Frequently a finish carpenter has a different idea about how things should be than the framer did. A wise finish carpenter will carefully consider what he framer has done, usually only necessitating minor changes if any are required. If he makes too many drastic changes he risks weakening the whole structure. A new pastor who is concentrating on turning the church into what he wants may destroy it because he hasn’t taken the time to see why things were done a certain way.
It is critical that both the framer and the finish carpenter understand it is not their house, they are building it for the owner. He expects them to follow the plan closely, only making changes with his approval. If they do so, few changes should be needed. If the finish carpenter finds need for major changes he better check to see if his plans are the right ones. The owner is the one who decides when the house is finished, and who gets the job. He may not pay for the changes if he doesn’t think they are needed or they are not in the plans.
Frequently pastors, church planters and missionaries forget whose building they are building, trying to make it fit their plan rather than God’s. It results in churches that are not what they ought to be. As Paul points out, they will be tested, and what doesn’t measure up will be destroyed, leaving the builder with nothing but his own life to show for his effort.
How does our work stack up?
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