As the clock is about to chime 3:00 am here I sit with my journal. My family rests soundly upstairs underneath blankets on a cool morning. My eyes have been opening and shutting throughout the night while my mind races about building a strong congregation by bottling up the oldest formula for church growth. The oldest formula has been the truest and the most stable throughout all generations. While men shuffle to find the newest program, the old formula continues to work. When congregations explode in growth, the old formula holds its weight of pricelessness. Hundreds of thousands of people have experienced this old formula, but still some try to place it on a shelf.
Though all the church growth books a preacher could muster have been placed on a shelf, this formula has stood the test of time. It has outlasted the gospel meeting crowds of the 40’s and 50’s, the bus ministries of the late 70’s and even the direct mailing ministry of the 21st century. I am sure if it can outlast those it will outlast the movements to come. I believe placing our faith into a man made program has taken away our emphasis on the old formula. The creation of ministry motivated and approved seminars have refocused our eyes on the first formula of church growth – YOU!
You are the key factor in church growth! The old formula is You and Christ! Without Christ there is no light to shine and without you letting Him shine, the Father is not glorified (Matthew 5.14-16). While you think it sounds so simple, I am here to tell you it really is. Forget looking at everyone else and consider yourself. Do you make it easy for others to see Christ? Or do we mask him behind a program instead of opening our hearts so He can shine forth in our lives?
I believe Paul understood this powerful formula in Ephesians 4.16…
“…from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (ESV)
Notice Paul’s words about the body, “…when each part is working properly..”; that part is YOU! You are a part of a body which depends on your to fulfill your part (Romans 12.3-8; 1 Corinthians 12.12-31; 1 Peter 4.10-11). The body needs you to fill your role so the body can grow. Notice what happened in the early church when the members found their role in serving – see Acts 6.1-8! When every member filled their role notice the results…
“And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6.7; ESV)
Are you ready to find your role and strengthen the body?
Human understanding is great to the human mind, but it can be fatal when adding a dose of emotions which overtakes personal responsibility. When personal understanding is based on unstable emotions, as opposed to responsible thought, the human mind tends to side with emotions instead of truth.
Religiously, the “what if” game is a dangerous game negating personal responsibility and shifting it to one of a theologically quandary. Personal responsibility must not be taken out of the theological process. There are many scriptures which speak of the responsibility of each individual to receive and share salvation. While Christ bore the burden of our lives on the cross, it is our responsibility to live for Him and bear our cross.
The “what if” game usually goes like this, “What if someone lives on a remote island in the Pacific and never hears the gospel?” But this question simply needs rearranged to make it closer to home, “What if a neighbor, who is an atheist, teaches their children atheism and they never hear the gospel?” Why do people reach for a remote island? I believe it takes away from our personal responsibility as Christ followers (as Christians). Using such an extreme examples places the work on someone else in the example than ourselves.
Playing the “what if” game begs the question, “What are you doing to reach everyone?” Is it our desire to plant the seed of Christ, water the seed and let God give the increase? Or is our desire to speak of endless possibilities of “what if” without reaching the people nearest to our home?
Passages such as 2 Thessalonians 1.5-15 reveal God’s words regarding ignorance. As Christ-followers, God-believers and Holy Spirit filled followers, Paul’s inspired words of 2 Thessalonians should cause tears because of the fate of those lost. Those tears should lead us to action on their behalf. The responsibility should inspire us to reach every person and not play a game of shedding responsibility.
My friends, let us put off the ‘what if” and begin putting on the “what can I do.”
Since the new year is right around the corner, many people will make resolutions and some will keep all of them. Amid those resolutions, some will decide to change their spiritual life for the better and begin attending services on a more regular basis. Many people are seeking the perfect church (by worldly standards) to attend. I would challenge you to consider the points below in your search.
People want to find the perfect item to solve their problems. As people, we look for the newest and most improved item to conquer our issues. These new items are the ones which glitter and shine during a sales campaign on television. Several years ago I drove past a church building which sign read, “This is the Perfect Church!” Regarding those thoughts, I have shared with you steps on finding the perfect church.
How to find the Perfect Church:
Step #1 – Leave Yourself Behind
To find the perfect church, we must lay down our interests and pursuits and look to the One whose thoughts are greater than ours (Isaiah 55.8-9)
To find the perfect church, look for the words of God not the words that you want to hear. (2 Timothy 3.16-17; 2 Timothy 4.1-5)
To find the perfect church, find the worship of the Lord not the worship you might like. (John 4.24)
To find the perfect church, find people to serve not a reason to be served. (Philippians 2.3-4)
To find the perfect church, look for saved sinners not lying self-righteous. (1 Corinthians 6.15-20; 1 John 1.8-10)
To find the perfect church, find not a building but a vision looking forward. (2 Corinthians 4.16-18; Colossians 3.2)
