Unfinished

When Was It Written
In March 2007, Trace Crossing moved into a shopping center storefront for their weekly services. The building was not completely renovated when they first started worshipping there. This article originally written on March 11, 2007 is a simple observation of the fact that the church was a group of unfinished people worshipping in an unfinished room. 

Who Wrote It
Kevin Wood, Pastor

UNFINISHED
I love the way our building looks right now with its half-painted walls and unfinished stage. Everything looks so raw. Now don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to the day when the work is finished and everything looks exactly like it needs to look. But right now, there is a beautiful message in the midst of our mess.

Look at the wall right behind our stage area. It has been primed and it’s ready for the acoustic carpet we are going to hang up there, but if you look hard enough you can still see the red heartbeat through the brown paint. One day that thing is going to look really good. But for now it’s unfinished, and it needs a little work.

Look at the big blue room in the kids’ hallway. Three of the walls look great. The fourth… not so great. One day that room is going to be packed with kids, worshipping God and learning about Jesus in an environment that will be perfect for it. But for now it’s unfinished, and it needs a little work.

Look at the room in the very back corner, the pink room checkered in black and white and blah. It is a little too dark and it is a little too damp. It sounds like the perfect environment for growing mold not ministry. Right now it is packed with a little bit of everything – paint, ladders, and insulation materials. One day that room is going to be used to mold the lives of teenagers into the likeness of Christ. But for now it’s unfinished and it needs a little work.

Look at the stage standing in the center of the worship room. Raw two-by-eights sit underneath plain plywood planks, their unstained and unpainted wooden boards showing out. One day it will be carpeted and comfortable and splinter-free. But for not it’s unfinished and it needs a little work.

Now what is the message in the midst of this mess? Well, look around. Look at the preacher standing on the unfinished platform. His life is exactly like the stage he stands upon: unfinished. Look at the people sitting inside those half-painted walls. Their lives are exactly like the walls that surround them: unfinished. Look all around the room and see the faces of people that God continues to work on. Everything about this place – and this people – is unfinished. And I happen to think that’s a good thing.

Because the moment we drive the last nail, paint the last wall, and cover the last corner of the stage, the temptation will be to think that everything is finished. But it isn’t. There is a room full of unfinished business in you and me. As long as we are here, there is plenty of work to do, not on the outside but on the inside. There are hearts to be renovated, spirits to be restored, and lives to be rebuilt. We are all a little unfinished and we need a little work. The good thing is we have a Christ who wants to do it and a community who will help as well. Even when we finish the building, I pray we will remember the work on the body is never done.

Still Under Construction,

Kevin