Have you ever heard a pastor or a church planter say, “I want to plant a church that I would want to attend”? It was probably me you were hearing. Although this may sound cool, I think it could have devastating results. Not because it would be very difficult and because that ‘standard’ would be so high — which is quite an ironic notion when you think about it — but because you don’t have a clue what lies ahead.

Thinking about the story of Noah in Genesis 6, it's interesting to notice that before Noah is called a righteous man in verse 9, we are told that "Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord”. We need to be very aware that God has not called us to build anything because He thought we could, but because of His grace and favor.

Noah is given specific dimensions and instructions for building the ark down to the number of decks, the door and the roof. Now I don’t know much about ship building but I would think that an undertaking like this would possibly require a few more windows and openings, possibly a gym and an internet cafe. I mean this voyage may take a while, right?

The point I am trying to make is that the description of the Ark seemed to be simple and robust, with not much in the way of comfort and convenience. Left to Noah I think it may have looked very different, but Noah did not know what God knew. This thing would have to face the greatest storm history had ever seen, and besides the 40 straight days of being pounded with torrential rain and storm surges, it would have to float for a year.

Jesus said He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it and she would emerge without spot or wrinkle. Do we understand entirely what that means? Maybe we should leave the architecture up to Him and stick to the plans as closely as we know how.

We are not building a boat we’d like to sail in, we are called to build a church through which He will be glorified!