Volume 11 Post/Email 1 – Action
The words of our Lord in Matthew 28:19-20 - "Therefore 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."
God wants His church to be a people of action. He has given us a mission. The mission is not to be optional. The mission is not to be negotiable. The mission is not to be a side-thought. The mission is to be the main thing. The mission is to be the motivation and driving force of the church. The mission is to determine what the church does and does not do.
Every aspect of the church is to be aligned with her mission. Members of the church, beginning with the elders and evangelist, should be analyzing each activity through this lense. Ministries should be determined and organized based upon the mission. Worship should inspire and energize the church for a greater commitment to Jesus and the mission. Bible classes should be planned and taught in a context of mission and action.
Adult and teenage Bible teachers can help the students in the class ask and answer the following questions: Why does this lesson and truth matter? How can this lesson apply to and be married with a verb?
For all of the positives in every member of a congregation, there can still be some forces of inertia at work. A few can be vocally and even silently reluctant and resistant to change, even change that would actually improve faithfulness to the mission of the church. These can be personal friends and incredible Christians and members of the same congregation. What matters is that every congregation become more loyal to her mission than to habits, tradition and preference. What matters is that we all have pure motives who want to see the Lord's will be done, and not our own. We should all want the church to grow. We should all pray and work towards this end, and whatever this requires of us. We should all be committed to the mission of the church and taking action that is appropriate.
Finally, it is not pure to have a "personal" "hidden" agenda in a congregation. However, it is okay to have an agenda if it is the Lord's agenda. We should not hide, disregard or dismiss the Lord's agenda. We should uphold the Lord's mission for His church. The Lord's mission requires continual commitment to growth and improvement. The definition of insanity is to do the same things the same way and yet expect different results. Positive change and action are necessary. Positive change is happening in the church today. Greater health and growth are becoming realities. Episodic change is coming. Yes, "visible change" is being resisted, but that is expected. Each congregation has to be led gently and lovingly into transformation, especially when it is "visible transformation." What every church needs to know is that if it does not welcome an evolution, it can expect to experience a revolution - it will eventually become a dinosaur.
-Brian
