SEEKING A RIGHT WAY

From My Perspective - - - 

To say that we live in an opinionated culture and time is an understatement. It doesn’t really matter what subject one chooses to raise there will be several pro and con opinions about it. Whether it is political discourse, societal mores, cultural trend, medical care or religion, there will be a multitude of thoughts, ideas and opinions about it. People can become very engaged with their point of view and sound as though they are the expert on and about a given matter. It is interesting that Proverbs 14:12-13 observes: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief.” 

An article by Ed Stetzer in Christianity Today (August 01, 2014) is entitled: “Engaging an Ever-Changing Culture With a Never-Changing Gospel.” A sub-theme is: “Avoid church culture pendulum swings—concern yourself with proclaiming the gospel.” In a very important and timely way, the column goes on to state: “People have a tendency to get willfully locked into their way of doing ministry. In so doing, we end up loving the particular way that we do church more than the particular people our church has been called to reach. People have a tendency to get willfully locked into their way of doing ministry. Before long, the ministry strategy is as old as the congregation and the church that once thrived with innovative ways to reach their community has now shriveled to a handful of people that have completely lost touch with the surrounding neighborhood. Now, church is more than a body that engages its community. It should have certain biblical marks and should be focused on eternal purposes. However, it must also must take the faith it believes and live it out in context.”

Under a paragraph heading: “Church Should Impact the Community” he adds: “There should be a difference in the community because the church exists, and if it left for some reason, there should be a void that's felt. Unfortunately, that's not often the case. We become more about church preservation than community transformation. Perhaps no one sees this more keenly than church planters. Many are entering communities with a church presence that is long gone. They find it easier to simply start a church, with new, innovative strategies that will engage the modern community.This alone will not solve the problem, however. Should that church survive another fifty years, they could find themselves in the very same position as the dying churches around them. Solely pursuing cultural relevance is not the answer. Relevance is a tool; gospel proclamation is the goal. When we pursue relevance as the goal, it leads to an unhelpful pendulum swing in church culture.” 

What is a group of people ready to do Biblically to reach a community with a demographic shift. In the past, some churches chose to move to the suburbs and essentially abandoned the city. A model for an effective church plant and/or church ministry is recorded in Acts 2:44-47, “All the believers were together…Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” some might allow that this model would not work today. Question: How do you know? Have you tried it? Rather than trying to duplicate past successes or what some mega-church promotes, we should return to the Biblical method and model. Consider these things with me!