Today's Church pt 9
Christians need to realize that they are needed in the Church just as much as the senior minister. All Christians are ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, some just get paid. Ministers need to serve the world, not the Church. They should not manage the structures inside only, but develop effective plans to infiltrate the society that surrounds them. Jesus is a life-giving Savior, and the Church, must therefore become a life-giving Church.[1]
Ministry belongs to everyone. Ownership of the ministry is the key to long-term motivation and effectiveness.[2] God created people to fit in a body to use their gifts to edify and build one another up. The early Church was devoted to each other. They developed ministries that met needs. Finally, the early Church was devoted to church growth, particularly through conversion. Throughout the book of Acts God added to their numbers. They were faithful in evangelism and to the mission.
Christianity is different than what any other religion has to offer in the present day. It offers hope, love, and grace to an undeserving person. Yet most Christians in America are heretical, therefore if people go into a Church, people are not going into the heart of Christ; they are going into the heart of religion.[3] Christianity has become hypocritical because the Churches do not offer these items. They offer judgment, mocking, and let downs that drive an unbelieving world mad. No wonder so many look for love in all the wrong places. Those are often the only places left. The grace-filled Church is not only accepted and accepting, it is open and honest.[4]
When a Church expresses their pain and fears, a person is more likely to do the same. Nobody wants to be exposed for his or her faults and shortcomings, but it becomes infinitely easier to open up when someone sees it done. Too little acceptance and not enough openness and honesty are the problems.
DC Talk, an older Christian band says, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians…who acknowledge these with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle…that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” Legalism runs wild in the Church, like weeds throughout a garden. Leaders need to be the gardener and pick out the bad weeds to help them understand that legalism does not win souls to Jesus Christ. Grace needs to be applied with a sprinkle of authenticity.
Paid in Full
[1] McIntosh, Biblical Church Growth: How You Can Work with God to Build a Faithful Church, 34.
[2] McIntosh, Make Room for the Boom…or Bust: Six Church Models for Teaching Three Generations, 131.
[3] Sweet, Carpe Mañana: Is Your Church Ready to Seize Tomorrow?, 75.
[4] Joseph R. Cooke, Free for the Taking: The Life-changing Power of Grace (Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1975), 145.
Ministry belongs to everyone. Ownership of the ministry is the key to long-term motivation and effectiveness.[2] God created people to fit in a body to use their gifts to edify and build one another up. The early Church was devoted to each other. They developed ministries that met needs. Finally, the early Church was devoted to church growth, particularly through conversion. Throughout the book of Acts God added to their numbers. They were faithful in evangelism and to the mission.
Christianity is different than what any other religion has to offer in the present day. It offers hope, love, and grace to an undeserving person. Yet most Christians in America are heretical, therefore if people go into a Church, people are not going into the heart of Christ; they are going into the heart of religion.[3] Christianity has become hypocritical because the Churches do not offer these items. They offer judgment, mocking, and let downs that drive an unbelieving world mad. No wonder so many look for love in all the wrong places. Those are often the only places left. The grace-filled Church is not only accepted and accepting, it is open and honest.[4]
When a Church expresses their pain and fears, a person is more likely to do the same. Nobody wants to be exposed for his or her faults and shortcomings, but it becomes infinitely easier to open up when someone sees it done. Too little acceptance and not enough openness and honesty are the problems.
DC Talk, an older Christian band says, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians…who acknowledge these with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle…that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” Legalism runs wild in the Church, like weeds throughout a garden. Leaders need to be the gardener and pick out the bad weeds to help them understand that legalism does not win souls to Jesus Christ. Grace needs to be applied with a sprinkle of authenticity.
Paid in Full
[1] McIntosh, Biblical Church Growth: How You Can Work with God to Build a Faithful Church, 34.
[2] McIntosh, Make Room for the Boom…or Bust: Six Church Models for Teaching Three Generations, 131.
[3] Sweet, Carpe Mañana: Is Your Church Ready to Seize Tomorrow?, 75.
[4] Joseph R. Cooke, Free for the Taking: The Life-changing Power of Grace (Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1975), 145.