is when it feels like we aren’t going anywhere. There are two opposite extremes that many churches take and oddly enough they both lead to the same result. The first is when a church has NO direction. No one knows what is going on. No one knows where things are headed. There is no vision. No direction. No plan. No movement. You show up week in and week out but it never seems like the church is actually purposefully trying to go anywhere.People will only stand ready for direction so long before they give up thinking it will ever come.
Second is when a church has 100 directions. It has that because everyone has picked their own path. Everyone is a champion. Anyone with any idea of anything they want to do is released. There is no focus. No purpose. No vision (because there are too many visions). People are tired and worn out and don’t see how what they are doing is taking the church where it needs to go. Often churches end up here because leadership doesn’t know when to say no or doesn’t like saying no…it is easy to say yes when you don’t personally know and embrace a specific vision for the future. It is easy to say no when you do have a vision and purpose and direction for the future because it is clear what does and does not fit the vision. You are right back to a church that has NO direction because, truth is 100 directions is NO direction.
We need church leaders who have a simple, unified vision and who know how to carry that out and involve people in the mission and vision of the church. This will take saying no to the distractions and yes to the things that emphasize and support the mission. All of this may not come natural to us but it is essential for the future of the church that we transition from institution back to movement.
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I used to go to one of those churches where everyone did his or her own thing, and nobody worked together. We used to do things together as a church, but that stopped after awhile. The focus became having a really good worship service.
Then I got involved in Child Evangelism Fellowship. They are focused on the Great Commission, and they do something about it! They have methods of sharing the Gospel effectively and are focused on that alone. That’s where I met people from other churches who were working together on that which matters most: saving the lost. And it is happening!
We soon felt the call to full time missions, sold our house and our business and we are working on getting a new chapter started. There are Baptists and Episcopalians and Pentecostals all working together and it is beautiful! We found our focus. God is not willing that any of these little ones perish. Matthew 18:14.
I long for a church that is Spirit empowered and Spirit led and there is no need for vision statements and the like. Don’t know that this church actually exists any longer.
God’s church was not designed to take away a person or people’s lives or worth as individuals. We live in a society that love to control people so it doesn’t help people grow towards God if there is always a control issue. People should find what they’re good at doing in the kingdom and work with people that will help them get better at doing it for God. Vision is always a must in preparation for Kingdom growth. Implementation takes people working together and not fighting and pulling against one another. God is patient with all of us since we are not perfect he gives us a chance to grow while we serve Him. I’m thankful to be in his church and find out what my life is supposed to be about and I pray that others are as happy as I am for being saved and worth something in the kingdom.I wonder what the first century church really experienced. the 21st century church has its own challenges and I do believe people are rising to meet the different challenges.helping people’s souls to be saved is the top priority in worshiping God.I do not believe in the ecumenical movements no matter who taught them and whether Benjamin Franklin believed in them. I still believe that Jesus is the only way and his doctrine of salvation is what saves people’s souls.everyone who has become a child of God through the doctrine of Christ can teach someone else how to become a Christian and live and teach others.God’s program has really never been complicated man,just complicates things.thanks for the blog. Thinking people will always continue to think and implement.people that want to please God will try to achieve a healthy balance.Hope to see at the Spiritual Growth Workshops.