I just read the comments from Bobby Jamieson.
He makes a valid point, and in general I agree with the concept, but I think it’s wishful thinking, at least in part.
The idea of creating a “culture” of evangelism and discipleship is a great and noble idea, but I have never seen it happen in any church or in an entire community for more than a short season.
This seems to be a lot like the idea of praying for revival in our city. The principle is great, even biblical, but the reality is something else.
Great ideas are not enough to change our lifestyle. Revival and the “culture of discipleship” can’t be sustained solely on great preaching and teaching. Programs are certainly an inferior way to do church, but at least they work. Hundreds of people will get actively involved, the job will get done. It may be a crutch, it may be expensive, it may even be inefficient, but at least it’s getting people out of the house and involved in God’s work.
The suggested alternative is superior in many ways, but will the people actually embrace it for the long haul. Will it create a culture of openly sharing Jesus in a casual open and free lifestyle. I wish I could be that person, I wish that sharing my faith were as natural and easy as talking about my hobbies. Sadly the truth is, I’m not very bold with my faith, and I think there are lots of people just like me, people that will love to help with a program but not willing to regularly talk about Jesus at work or at play.
The reality is that we are lazy, sure a certain percentage will, and have embraced the Christian lifestyle 100%, they live and breathe Jesus, but I don’t see it being embraced by the church as a whole. The result of our human weakness is that evangelism and discipleship simply don’t happen as a continual lifestyle outside of the church building. When programs are dropped a vacuum is left, and there just aren’t enough “keeners” to fill the gap.
In my opinion, the logical solution would be to pursue both tracks. Rather than dropping “programs” cold turkey, why not take the time to slowly shift peoples attitude towards personal evangelism. Teach and preach the idea of personal obligation and responsibility for sharing our faith and at the same time use programs to keep people actively involved. Treat our church as though it were a mission ground, introduce the new concept gradually while working with “the old ways” until the new way has had time to grow and take root in the hearts of it’s citizens.
9 Marks : Building Healthy Churches
I just read the comments from Bobby Jamieson.
He makes a valid point, and in general I agree with the concept, but I think it’s wishful thinking, at least in part.
The idea of creating a “culture” of evangelism and discipleship is a great and noble idea, but I have never seen it happen in any church or in an entire community for more than a short season.
This seems to be a lot like the idea of praying for revival in our city. The principle is great, even biblical, but the reality is something else.
Great ideas are not enough to change our lifestyle. Revival and the “culture of discipleship” can’t be sustained solely on great preaching and teaching. Programs are certainly an inferior way to do church, but at least they work. Hundreds of people will get actively involved, the job will get done. It may be a crutch, it may be expensive, it may even be inefficient, but at least it’s getting people out of the house and involved in God’s work.
The suggested alternative is superior in many ways, but will the people actually embrace it for the long haul. Will it create a culture of openly sharing Jesus in a casual open and free lifestyle. I wish I could be that person, I wish that sharing my faith were as natural and easy as talking about my hobbies. Sadly the truth is, I’m not very bold with my faith, and I think there are lots of people just like me, people that will love to help with a program but not willing to regularly talk about Jesus at work or at play.
The reality is that we are lazy, sure a certain percentage will, and have embraced the Christian lifestyle 100%, they live and breathe Jesus, but I don’t see it being embraced by the church as a whole. The result of our human weakness is that evangelism and discipleship simply don’t happen as a continual lifestyle outside of the church building. When programs are dropped a vacuum is left, and there just aren’t enough “keeners” to fill the gap.
In my opinion, the logical solution would be to pursue both tracks. Rather than dropping “programs” cold turkey, why not take the time to slowly shift peoples attitude towards personal evangelism. Teach and preach the idea of personal obligation and responsibility for sharing our faith and at the same time use programs to keep people actively involved. Treat our church as though it were a mission ground, introduce the new concept gradually while working with “the old ways” until the new way has had time to grow and take root in the hearts of it’s citizens.
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