What are You Building?

The apostle Paul was careful to give the proper credit for the furtherance of the ministry that God had given to him - He recognized that what the Lord had built was the Lord's work, not his, and there would be partners who would build on the foundation God had laid. He brings this out in 1st Corinthians 3:
9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

If you build it, they will come. That's a rather familiar movie line from the Kevin Costner baseball film, Field of Dreams. The main character in the film heard a voice reciting that line, and he built a baseball field on a cornfield in Iowa where legends of the game found a home. 

A well-known Christian musical artist heard a similar message from an authoritative source some 30 years ago.  CBN.com reported on an inner-city ministry in downtown Nashville recently:

Teens who are into skateboarding, video games, need a hot meal, or just a place to do homework can find it all here at Rocketown, an outreach with a mission to help young people experience the love of God. The mind behind Rocketown, now in its 30th year, is Christian music artist Michael W. Smith.

He tells CBN that, back in 1991, he literally heard God say, "Build it and they'll come. And I kept thinking, no, that's the baseball movie, that's Kevin Costner. And I just kept hearing it, 'build it and they'll come, build it and they'll come.'"

It started in Franklin and moved to downtown Nashville - Kenny Alonzo is the CEO and says:

"If it's going to excite a kid and get 'em in the building, we're going to do it. And so, once they're here, we get to love them and care for them and provide for them. And we try to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I know that's said a lot, but honestly, that's what we do..."

He relates, "We've had everything from couch surfers who have a home, but they don't want to stay there, to kids who live in storage units with mom because they don't have anywhere to go. And then some kids from the street, and they just come in here because they can get warm when it's cold..."

Rocketown offers an after-school program, a skate park, and even a recording studio.  Thursday nights are the time for a "family dinner."  The night CBN visited for its story, a former regular at Rocketown received a minivan that was arranged by the ministry.

As one visitor said, this unique place offers "community."

Smith notes:

"Just some of the background stories you hear like a girl, her dad is in prison and her mom's a prostitute. What do you do with this kid? You just love on 'em. And for many years a lot of people didn't understand our philosophy. They were upset with us because we weren't more direct about the gospel. And sometimes, especially when you have a very troubled teen who has a lot of damage, they don't trust anybody. And so, you have to earn their trust. And that's our methodology of just we're going to love kids into the kingdom, but we're going to love 'em first..."

The song takes its name from a song that Smitty recorded about a man who came into a sinful city, a man whose "heartlight" was "always glowing."   A man who prayed for a broken city.  And, no doubt here is a ministry that is reaching out and offering hope to broken lives. 

Michael W. Smith had a directive from the Lord to build something - to launch a ministry. We can consider what we are building - or what we are allowing the Lord to do through us. We may not be a successful singer or are even called to launch a ministry.  What God is calling us to is obedience - to listen for His instruction and respond.   As we spend time in His Word, we can do so with expectation that the Holy Spirit will show us what we are to "build."

And, we may not be called to do it alone - as Paul recounted, there may be those who will build on a foundation that God has laid and we have been used of Him to facilitate. But, once God shows us what He desires for us to do, we can rely on Him to complete the work that He has raised up.  

In the course of our lives, I believe that we are called to build something.  Perhaps many things.  In our families.  In our churches.  Our reputation.  A demonstration of our faithfulness.  Through our devotion to Christ, He is able to work powerfully for His glory.