CHURCH: Better Than Ever! Week Two

When we find ourselves in a place that we are comfortable, we have a tendency to seek the status quo. Seeing the church as a status quo organization is dangerous. It is a living organism - the body of Christ here on earth. The body is either growing or dying, As we get older, our natural bodies seem to expand with little to no effort. This expansion is not always healthy. True can be said of a local church. Explosive numerical growth can be both a positive and a negative. So the question is how can we work with God to build a faithful (healthy) church?

Healthy, faithful church growth is a result of God's power and authority. In Acts chapter 2 we read that "the LORD added to their numbers daily those who were being saved." God is the author and finisher of our faith. It is true for the church as a whole as well - he is the creator and sustainer of his future bride. Many books and articles have explored the concept of church growth, but I believe true growth must be both numerical and spiritual. Gary McIntosh addresses this issue in his book Biblical Church Growth. He begins with the premise that since the church is the embodiment of Christ here on earth, and given that Jesus is a life-giving savior, then his body (the church) should be life giving as well.

What makes a church a life-giving church? McIntosh present nine fundamental principles to use as evaluation of a healthy life-giving church.

God reveals himself in all of nature. Psalm 19:1 confirms that "all the heavens tell of the glory of God." But this glory is corrupted by the corruption of all creation by sin. Man needed further instruction, and so God provided it by His Word - the Bible. The bible is "God breathed" and good for teaching and training (1 Timothy 3:16,17). It must be the cornerstone of a successful church growth.

In John 15;8, Jesus tells us that his father "is glorified by this: that you bear much fruit and prove that you are my disciples." We glorify God by being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlling (Galatians 5:22,23). It is the chief and highest goal for man - to glorify God (Westminster Confession, 1647).

The church is committed to the Great Commission - teaching people about Christ so that they know, then teaching them about him so that they can go out and share with others. Discipleship is key to growing a faithful healthy church.

We can be compared to a rechargeable battery - we can be vessels of power of certain situation, but we need an external source of power to keep us charged. The Holy Spirit is available to us as a power cord to "plug into" God's inexhaustible power. If we are to have the energy to see real church growth and development, then we must be drawing energy from an unlimited source, not ourselves or risk failing to complete task of bringing glory to God.

The purpose of the shepherd is to lead, protect, train, nurture the sheep so that they grow to maturity. Mature sheep are productive, and lead to having other sheep. A good shepherd "leads the flock among them" (1 Peter 5:2). The shepherd is found in and among the sheep. They are a servant leader, not a celebrity, authoritarian, or privileged pontiff.

The church is comprised of individuals. These individuals are the ministers of the church. They are the ambassadors into the community - sharing God as they go about their daily lives. They must be effective ministers.

Jesus is the perfect example. In John 1:14 we discover that Jesus put aside his culture (heavenly perfection and riches) and exchanged them for flesh and came to live among us. He met us where we were. He became a shepherd among the sheep. He did this so that his message would be better understood, but he did not compromise his principles. Effective message delivery may look different in various parts of the world, but the message of God's love and forgiveness does not.

When you read this you may be thinking of a personal experience or story of local churches who seek a specific target as detailed in their mission statements. It may read something like "we are a church who seeks millennials" or "we are a church who welcomes everyone who loves lights out loud praise between the ages of 18 to 35" or "we are reaching baby boomers with the rock steady traditions of our beloved church reaching back two thousand years." The tag lines may change, but the message is clear: "We want a church that looks,acts, sounds like us." This is NOT God's idea of targeted focus.

His plan has been the same in both Old and New Testaments - start with one (Abraham in OT, Jesus in NT) - grow into a large group (Jewish nation in OT, the Church in NT) - then impact and bless the world through this group. Or as Jesus put it in Acts 1:8 - go into Jerusalem (local), expand into Judea (region), and into the world! A healthy church growth plan has a target of everyone everywhere, one soul at a time regardless of age, culture, or preferences.

God has always been about order and structure. He existed prior to time and creation as Father, Son, and Spirit. He appointed leaders throughout the bible, and in the New Testament entrusted his venue of change (the church) in the hands of men. There are clear guidelines for leaders (Titus 1, 1 Timothy 3, 1 Peter 5) and there are clearly more requirements on leaders (Hebrews 13:17, James 3:1), but leadership is vital to a growing church. there is organization in God's plan.

The effectiveness of a growing life-giving church is its members. Next week we will explore how we can become effective life-giving members of the body of Christ!

CHURCH: Better Than Ever! Week One

In the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, inventor Caractacus Potts transforms a Grand Prix winning car from trash to treasure, from forgotten to fantabulous. I believe that many have seen the church as they have seen Chitty - a once wonderful thing that is broken and need of repair. But it simply is not true! The church is the body of Christ and is just as wonderful and amazing today as she was on the day of Pentecost some two thousand years ago! The church, if conducted biblically, is better than ever!

Bill Hybels, pastor and founder of Willow Creek Church, is passionate about the local church. He states:

"Nothing on earth has greater potential to change lives and carry out His kingdom work in your community, than your local church. There's nothing like the local church when it's working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close."

Jesus foretold the power and impact of the church in John 14:12. Speaking of his believers, the members of his future church, he told us:

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these."

Wow! Imagine all that Jesus did while he was here on earth. No imagine that we, his body, his church, will be able to do all those things and more. The church can be an amazing element of influence and change in this world. In order to be that impactful entity it is designed to be, I believe we must fulfill three main roles.

First, we must fulfill the Great Commandment. In Matthew 22 we read of an exchange between Jesus and a group of the teachers of the Law.

“Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” they asked. 

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

As a church we need to focus on loving God - our spiritual service, worship, and study. Equally though, we must work on loving our fellow man - both the fellow believer and the non-believer around us. We cannot love God if we do not love our fellow humans. This love takes many forms. It can be a helping hand, a listening ear, and sometimes an instructive word. Loving our neighbor was best explained in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). There Jesus lays out that our neighbor is anyone and everyone.

Second, we must fulfill the Great Commission. In Matthew 28, just before he leaves his disciples here on earth, Jesus gives them (and us) this goal:

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The church is often focused on converting non-believers into believers - which is good, but not fulfillment of this passage. Here Jesus lays out the practice of conversion followed by discipleship. We must teach, train, and develop fellow believers. While on earth, Jesus set the example by taking time to tell others about God's love, trained them for a time when he would not be with them, and developed them to lead the church after his departure. We must act as a church in the same way - producing mature Christians that are trained and ready for the challenges of Christian living. 

Third, we must help build the Great Community. The body of Christ is the church, comprised of many parts (1 Corinthians 12:12-20). Each part has its place and its role to play. In order for the body - the church - to function properly, the parts must do what they are intended to do. 

• We need to be the eyes of the body – not looking for the wrong in people but the good in them.
• We need to be the ears of the body – hearing the hurt and pain of people, not just hearing them be hurtful.
• We need to be the hands of the body – not striking out at people, but reaching out to people.
• We need to be the feet of the body – not trampling over people, but propelling them forward.
• We need to be the heart of the body – not having a hard heart, but having a NEW heart (of Christ) for people.

When we move from adversary to advocate, we can serve our world more effectively as the Church. 

The church is better than ever when the church is completing its mission, fulfilling its purpose, and bringing glory to God. Let us pray as Paul did in Ephesians 3:20-21 for the power from God to bring glory to him:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

God's WiFi Week Three