Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Examing Death
Baptist Press reviews a book on dying churches:
You see I have had there very thing quoted to me in "worship war" situations and yet I cannot help but think that when they do the precise opposite is what is happening. People keep pushing for "contemporary worship" in the name of reaching out to the community, and yet the vitriol with which the war happens would indicate that it is really about preference. (Isn't it really about preference anyway? And people will deride things like Sunday School and other programs of spiritual development becasue they are not outwardly focused. And yet, for any mission orientation to be truly effective do we not need mature Christians?
I grow weary of platitudiness and word driven Christianity. We must act and act with decisiveness. It must not be action for the sake of action, but it must be action that understands the very depths of genuine Christian faith. It must be action that prompts Christian maturity in order to produce Christian mission - not babies making babies.
There is too much at stake.
church maturity wisdom
"Though it's difficult to isolate any one factor as the most dangerous," Rainer said, "the steep numerical decline of these churches was most noticeable as the congregation started focusing on their own needs. They became preference-driven instead of Great Commission driven."I think that is really fair, but there are some important questions associated with this observation. NAmely what does it mean to be preference driven and what does it mean to be Great Commission driven?
You see I have had there very thing quoted to me in "worship war" situations and yet I cannot help but think that when they do the precise opposite is what is happening. People keep pushing for "contemporary worship" in the name of reaching out to the community, and yet the vitriol with which the war happens would indicate that it is really about preference. (Isn't it really about preference anyway? And people will deride things like Sunday School and other programs of spiritual development becasue they are not outwardly focused. And yet, for any mission orientation to be truly effective do we not need mature Christians?
I grow weary of platitudiness and word driven Christianity. We must act and act with decisiveness. It must not be action for the sake of action, but it must be action that understands the very depths of genuine Christian faith. It must be action that prompts Christian maturity in order to produce Christian mission - not babies making babies.
There is too much at stake.
church maturity wisdom
