Hello Guy, good morning to you. This is a good question and one I've asked myself more than once. If we focused on discipleship we would be far more community based than we are now and less focused one once a week Sunday morning worship. I suspect that scale and pace of the church would shift (seehttp://radref.blogspot.com/2011/05/slow-church-coming.html). Discipling is a matter of one and two's - long-term relationships. Getting alongside people. Listening as well as speaking. A church like that would be a powerful, wonderful thing.
I agree completely with Sattler....this community would be limitless in Christ's ambition in our neighborhoods and cities. God's design was likely never to be around the Sunday only experience (if that at all!). I've been doing lots of prayer digging about this very thought of getting "God out of the box" that we put him inside of (all of our planned activities) and letting Him out to do His work through each one of us moment by moment.....Keep up the good posts Guy and thanks for challenging me once again.
I like the video and will probably share this to challenge others. I like that it says "less of this... and more of this..." because it is not an either/or proposition. In western developed countries the entertainment/theatre/media culture is an integral part of people's lives. I think that is why biblically sound "mega churches" have been successful in attracting people far from God in our culture and leading them to Christ. Could they do a better job of going outside church walls as missional discipling communities? Most definitely. No doubt, the heavy infrastructure of the mega church model can drain energy and distract from focus on Jesus' mission.
However, there are "mega churches" leveraging their infrastructure and resources to carry out the Great Commission. I believe they are a more biblical model than the missionary agency approach. Mission agencies tend to take over the church's responsibility and replace the church in God's mission. Smaller churches, simple churches, house churches and individuals use agencies to facilitate the sending of missionaries. In our modern world today there will always be a need for some centralized institutional structure to facilitate global mission. Would it not be better for that structure to be more closely identified as the church? Could the "mega church" be one of those agencies for God's global mission? After all, Jesus gave the Great Commission to the church, not to an agency.
So, I wish we would spend less time criticizing a certain form of church and more time trying to connect God's mission with the church in her many cultural forms, mobilizing the church to obey the Great Commission and facilitating the church to be the instrument for Jesus' mission. I would hope that we would encourage any cultural form a church takes to be the missionary in their own culture and beyond.
I say a loud "amen" to Sattler's reply,"Discipling is a matter of one and two's - long-term relationships. Getting alongside people. Listening as well as speaking. A church like that would be a powerful, wonderful thing".
Good thoughts by all. I am personally encouraged by what seems to be a growing trend of less programed events and more back to discipleship basics of relationships and practical evidences of love as illustrated by the message in this video. I also am mazed that this piece is a denominational effort. Really amazing.
You write I believe they are a more biblical model than the missionary agency approach. Mission agencies tend to take over the church's responsibility and replace the church in God's mission. From all that I am seeing these days, the IMB is definitely in agreement with you. The new changes underway the past couple of years and continuing forward all are pointed towards the local church assuming the GC responsibility with the IMB facilitating that effort.
7 comments:
Hello Guy, good morning to you. This is a good question and one I've asked myself more than once. If we focused on discipleship we would be far more community based than we are now and less focused one once a week Sunday morning worship. I suspect that scale and pace of the church would shift (seehttp://radref.blogspot.com/2011/05/slow-church-coming.html). Discipling is a matter of one and two's - long-term relationships. Getting alongside people. Listening as well as speaking. A church like that would be a powerful, wonderful thing.
I agree completely with Sattler....this community would be limitless in Christ's ambition in our neighborhoods and cities. God's design was likely never to be around the Sunday only experience (if that at all!). I've been doing lots of prayer digging about this very thought of getting "God out of the box" that we put him inside of (all of our planned activities) and letting Him out to do His work through each one of us moment by moment.....Keep up the good posts Guy and thanks for challenging me once again.
Guy,
I like the video and will probably share this to challenge others. I like that it says "less of this... and more of this..." because it is not an either/or proposition. In western developed countries the entertainment/theatre/media culture is an integral part of people's lives. I think that is why biblically sound "mega churches" have been successful in attracting people far from God in our culture and leading them to Christ. Could they do a better job of going outside church walls as missional discipling communities? Most definitely. No doubt, the heavy infrastructure of the mega church model can drain energy and distract from focus on Jesus' mission.
However, there are "mega churches" leveraging their infrastructure and resources to carry out the Great Commission. I believe they are a more biblical model than the missionary agency approach. Mission agencies tend to take over the church's responsibility and replace the church in God's mission. Smaller churches, simple churches, house churches and individuals use agencies to facilitate the sending of missionaries. In our modern world today there will always be a need for some centralized institutional structure to facilitate global mission. Would it not be better for that structure to be more closely identified as the church? Could the "mega church" be one of those agencies for God's global mission? After all, Jesus gave the Great Commission to the church, not to an agency.
So, I wish we would spend less time criticizing a certain form of church and more time trying to connect God's mission with the church in her many cultural forms, mobilizing the church to obey the Great Commission and facilitating the church to be the instrument for Jesus' mission. I would hope that we would encourage any cultural form a church takes to be the missionary in their own culture and beyond.
Guy,
Excellent!
I say a loud "amen" to Sattler's reply,"Discipling is a matter of one and two's - long-term relationships. Getting alongside people. Listening as well as speaking. A church like that would be a powerful, wonderful thing".
Good thoughts by all. I am personally encouraged by what seems to be a growing trend of less programed events and more back to discipleship basics of relationships and practical evidences of love as illustrated by the message in this video. I also am mazed that this piece is a denominational effort. Really amazing.
Tim,
You write I believe they are a more biblical model than the missionary agency approach. Mission agencies tend to take over the church's responsibility and replace the church in God's mission. From all that I am seeing these days, the IMB is definitely in agreement with you. The new changes underway the past couple of years and continuing forward all are pointed towards the local church assuming the GC responsibility with the IMB facilitating that effort.
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