We are on the cusp of another building program at Triad Baptist Church. Some churches go into building programs with the philosophy--if you build it, they will come, borrowing from the vision of the movie Field of Dreams. Shoeless Joe Jackson tells the farmer of the cornfield that if he will just build the ballfield, the ball players and spectators will come.  Others in ministry say that is all backwards because it assumes people are drawn to the building instead of being drawn to the ministry and person of Christ himself. So, those ministries reverse the philosophy saying if they come, you will build it. In other words, win people to the Lord and then people will come for the right reasons and do ministry; then, they will respond by building something for God as the ministry expands. I do not agree with either of those viewpoints because both focus on the work of man to accomplish the glory of God. My philosophy comes from Haggai 2:1-9. Let me explain. 

Whenever you are building something for God, there are two voices that whisper in your ear. One voice is the voice of the enemy. This voice says that you are building a whole lot of nothing. The other voice, the voice of God, says just finish it out. In chapter two, the prophet Haggai was called by God during the ministries of Ezra and Nehemiah and during the rebuilding of the temple and the wall of Jerusalem. It was a difficult task, so God sent Haggai to encourage the people to keep working on it and to finish it out. But, there were annoying and constant voices that were saying this was a whole bunch of nothing. The older men wept and said that the work was paltry compared to Solomon's temple. There were also hindrances from a local resistance, a lukewarm remnant, and limited resources.  How could it possibly be finished? 

Contrary to Solomon's day, when everyone was enthusiastic about the building of the temple and everything went well, in Haggai's day the people were discouraged and few.  So, God told the people through the prophet Haggai--I am with you; be strong and continue to work. Just finish it out! Herein lies my philosophy, that I believe comes from the Word of God, "If you build it, I will fill it."  Just finish it out, God says. He will fill it with His glory and presence. And when you finish it, His glory will go out among the nations once again. This spirit is the spirit we want as we enter into yet another building program at Triad.