In a recent book, evangelical pollster George Barna describes a new type of Christian whom he (positively) calls Revolutionaries. Barna describes them as "born-again Christians who had eliminated church life from their busy schedules. " He writes that the life of a Revolutionary Christian "reflects the very ideals and principles that characterized the life and purpose of Jesus Christ and that advances the Kingdom of God-despite the fact that [a Revolutionary Christian] rarely attends church services. " Barna thinks this type of Revolutionary Christian "is typical of a new breed of disciples of Jesus Christ."
How should we respond to proposals like this? How important is the local church in the plan of God? And when we talk about "the church," what exactly do we mean--and why should we care?
5/29/10
Casting Vision for the Women's Ministry
Much is being written these days about why churches should have Mission and Vision statements. It seems that everyone has their own slant on what these terms actually mean, and how they should apply to a local church. To me, mission and vision are quite simple to understand, at least biblically. In fact, I think churches should waste little time on mission statements. The reason is simple, Jesus gave us (the church) our mission in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.” (Holman) It seems pretty clear: Our mission is to go worldwide and make disciples.
According to our Lord, the New Testament church is in the “disciple making” business. There is no other “mission” for the church than that one; and, if we deviate from it, we cease to be a New Testament church. Another way to say it is this: The mission statement of the church states clearly the business of the church. If you put it that way, then the logical question for all churches to ask is simply, “How’s business?” In other words, if “disciple making” is the business of the church, how are we doing in making disciples? See how simple it becomes to evaluate the progress of your church if you understand clearly what you’re supposed to be doing? That’s what a mission statement does; it gives a church (or any organization) a baseline to measure progress.
A good example of how a clear mission statement works is to look at the mission of the Allied forces in World War II. The mission was simple, clear, and concise…win the war by defeating Germany, Italy and Japan. The generals and admirals who were charged with leading our armed forces clearly understood the mission; and, because of that, they knew they could easily measure progress against the mission. I didn’t say they could easily make progress; winning wars (like making disciples) can be a very difficult task. I said they could easily measure progress. I am continually amazed at how little thought and effort goes into measuring the progress of our churches today. Sometimes, it appears that the only mission we have is to meet again next Sunday. If we can do that, we tend to think all is well. However, measured against the mission that Jesus gave us in the Great Commission, just “meeting again next Sunday” doesn’t get it done! Management guru Peter Drucker once said, “What gets measured gets done.” When it comes to the actual accomplishment of the mission, truer words were never spoken. The proper measurement tool of the New Testament church is the mission given to us by Jesus Himself.
Vision, simply put, is about a preferred future. It’s about taking the mission, personalizing it, putting it into the proper context, and then looking ahead and seeing things the way you would like them to be. That’s why vision is so critical to a local church. If your city has several churches, and every church has the same mission (to make disciples), then what sets each church apart from the others? It is its vision, because it is in the vision (not the mission) that a church will find its uniqueness and, out of that, its marching orders for the future.
Let’s look to the Apostle Paul for help in better understanding mission and vision. Notice his words in Romans 1:13-15, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that I have often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry among you, just as among the rest of the Gentiles. For I am obligated both to the Greeks and Barbarians, both wise and the foolish. So I am eager to preach the good news to you who are in Rome.” (Holman) Here we see that Paul’s mission was to preach the gospel (disciple making); but we also see that his vision (preferred future) was to go to Rome and have a fruitful ministry among the Romans. Look at it this way, every apostle was charged with preaching the gospel and making disciples, but they didn’t all have the vision to do it in Rome. Said simply, vision gives the “who, what, where, when and how” to the mission.
Much is being written these days about why churches should have Mission and Vision statements. It seems that everyone has their own slant on what these terms actually mean, and how they should apply to a local church. To me, mission and vision are quite simple to understand, at least biblically. In fact, I think churches should waste little time on mission statements. The reason is simple, Jesus gave us (the church) our mission in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.” (Holman) It seems pretty clear: Our mission is to go worldwide and make disciples.
According to our Lord, the New Testament church is in the “disciple making” business. There is no other “mission” for the church than that one; and, if we deviate from it, we cease to be a New Testament church. Another way to say it is this: The mission statement of the church states clearly the business of the church. If you put it that way, then the logical question for all churches to ask is simply, “How’s business?” In other words, if “disciple making” is the business of the church, how are we doing in making disciples? See how simple it becomes to evaluate the progress of your church if you understand clearly what you’re supposed to be doing? That’s what a mission statement does; it gives a church (or any organization) a baseline to measure progress.
A good example of how a clear mission statement works is to look at the mission of the Allied forces in World War II. The mission was simple, clear, and concise…win the war by defeating Germany, Italy and Japan. The generals and admirals who were charged with leading our armed forces clearly understood the mission; and, because of that, they knew they could easily measure progress against the mission. I didn’t say they could easily make progress; winning wars (like making disciples) can be a very difficult task. I said they could easily measure progress. I am continually amazed at how little thought and effort goes into measuring the progress of our churches today. Sometimes, it appears that the only mission we have is to meet again next Sunday. If we can do that, we tend to think all is well. However, measured against the mission that Jesus gave us in the Great Commission, just “meeting again next Sunday” doesn’t get it done! Management guru Peter Drucker once said, “What gets measured gets done.” When it comes to the actual accomplishment of the mission, truer words were never spoken. The proper measurement tool of the New Testament church is the mission given to us by Jesus Himself.
Vision, simply put, is about a preferred future. It’s about taking the mission, personalizing it, putting it into the proper context, and then looking ahead and seeing things the way you would like them to be. That’s why vision is so critical to a local church. If your city has several churches, and every church has the same mission (to make disciples), then what sets each church apart from the others? It is its vision, because it is in the vision (not the mission) that a church will find its uniqueness and, out of that, its marching orders for the future.
Let’s look to the Apostle Paul for help in better understanding mission and vision. Notice his words in Romans 1:13-15, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that I have often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry among you, just as among the rest of the Gentiles. For I am obligated both to the Greeks and Barbarians, both wise and the foolish. So I am eager to preach the good news to you who are in Rome.” (Holman) Here we see that Paul’s mission was to preach the gospel (disciple making); but we also see that his vision (preferred future) was to go to Rome and have a fruitful ministry among the Romans. Look at it this way, every apostle was charged with preaching the gospel and making disciples, but they didn’t all have the vision to do it in Rome. Said simply, vision gives the “who, what, where, when and how” to the mission.
5/21/10
5/1/10
Peace Be Still
Vincent Van Gogh once said, "Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it." You see, Van Gogh was a gifted artist, yet he was a tormented soul governed all too easily by his emotions.
But struggling artists aren't the only ones who allow their lives to be captained by their emotions. Having served in ministry, it's frightening to see how often we "ministers" allow our emotions to overtake the guiding of the Spirit. Think about it...it's certainly uncomfortable to watch a toddler throw a temper tantrum in the grocery store, but it's even more painful to watch a servant of God throw one in their Father's house. Don't get me wrong - I know how tough ministry can be. People insult you, judge you, and even betray you. And when attacked, our natural human instinct tells us to take an aggressive action...to let our emotions run loose. But our spiritual instinct teaches us that no sin from another justifies a sinful response from us.
Proverbs 29:11 (ESV) says, "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."
Maybe you've learned to process the anger, but you're being bombarded by another of the enemy's attack strategies. You look around at your ministry, and you just don't seem to see any results. No one shows up to that Bible study you spent weeks preparing for...a woman you thought was truly growing has an affair...the church tells you there just isn't any money for what you'd been planning. You look around at other ministries, and they seem to be thriving and have support from the church. You go home at the end of the day feeling defeated and unsure of your calling. Sound painfully familiar?
Well, it's one of the enemy's most effective emotional manipulations. If he can convince us to compare our ministry with others, he can breed insecurity, jealousy, and doubt. If he can convince us to measure our spiritual success by a worldly standard comprised of numbers and dollar signs, he can generate fear, frustration, and even despair.
Psalm 139:23 (NLT) says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts."
For those of us in the trenches of ministry, it's critical that we give God the green light to show us the truth behind our thoughts and emotions. Without Him at the helm, it's truly impossible to navigate the often choppy waters of ministry. So I challenge you to step back and give the wheel to the One who is able to quiet your emotional turmoil with three simple words: "Peace, be still."
But struggling artists aren't the only ones who allow their lives to be captained by their emotions. Having served in ministry, it's frightening to see how often we "ministers" allow our emotions to overtake the guiding of the Spirit. Think about it...it's certainly uncomfortable to watch a toddler throw a temper tantrum in the grocery store, but it's even more painful to watch a servant of God throw one in their Father's house. Don't get me wrong - I know how tough ministry can be. People insult you, judge you, and even betray you. And when attacked, our natural human instinct tells us to take an aggressive action...to let our emotions run loose. But our spiritual instinct teaches us that no sin from another justifies a sinful response from us.
Proverbs 29:11 (ESV) says, "A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."
Maybe you've learned to process the anger, but you're being bombarded by another of the enemy's attack strategies. You look around at your ministry, and you just don't seem to see any results. No one shows up to that Bible study you spent weeks preparing for...a woman you thought was truly growing has an affair...the church tells you there just isn't any money for what you'd been planning. You look around at other ministries, and they seem to be thriving and have support from the church. You go home at the end of the day feeling defeated and unsure of your calling. Sound painfully familiar?
Well, it's one of the enemy's most effective emotional manipulations. If he can convince us to compare our ministry with others, he can breed insecurity, jealousy, and doubt. If he can convince us to measure our spiritual success by a worldly standard comprised of numbers and dollar signs, he can generate fear, frustration, and even despair.
Psalm 139:23 (NLT) says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts."
For those of us in the trenches of ministry, it's critical that we give God the green light to show us the truth behind our thoughts and emotions. Without Him at the helm, it's truly impossible to navigate the often choppy waters of ministry. So I challenge you to step back and give the wheel to the One who is able to quiet your emotional turmoil with three simple words: "Peace, be still."
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