I became part of the Churches of Christ for three reasons. The first was our knowledge of and devotion to Scripture. The second was that we are a "unity movement" or at least started that way. The third reason? To somehow partner with God to heal our divided congregations and world.
Our churches don't need more strategy... our churches need more Spirit. Now, you might be saying - you don't know my church. We need a strategy! I am would say, "You are probably right!" But strategy alone isn't sufficient. The Spirit can show us how to do the mission.
If you want something to reproduce it has to be simple. Complex approaches aren't as easily reproducible as simple approaches. If your approach to making disciples requires a PhD to pull it off then the number of capable and qualified people who can carry it forward is diminished.
FEATURED
Have you ever been on a prayer walk? Read our highlighted article to learn more about what this looks like and how you can do it.
Prayer walking is one of the most eye-opening practices I have experienced as a Christian. I had never heard of this or considered it until a few years ago when we planted a church. All those years, I had driven past my neighbors and driven through the neighborhoods in order to "get to church." All of a sudden, it became clear that all of those homes included people who needed Jesus and we needed to find a way to be out and among the people who live near us.
If you want something to reproduce it has to be simple. Complex approaches aren't as easily reproducible as simple approaches. If your approach to making disciples requires a PhD to pull it off then the number of capable and qualified people who can carry it forward is diminished.
Our churches don't need more strategy... our churches need more Spirit. Now, you might be saying - you don't know my church. We need a strategy! I am would say, "You are probably right!" But strategy alone isn't sufficient.
In the Bible, leadership is never one-dimensional. In both the Old and New Testaments, God provided different kinds of leaders to serve different functions. In the Old Testament we see patriarchs, prophets, priests, judges and kings. In the New Testament there are apostles, pastors, evangelists, prophets, teachers, shepherd-elders, deacons, and overseers. While there is some overlap between these various roles, they each have a specific purpose.
Imagine every evening your family sat at the dinning room table for a business meeting. The parents pull out the finances and assess all the decisions that had been made that day to help the family be "successful." Timmy is in trouble because he keeps leaving the light on in the bathroom.
Human beings have an incredibly amount of diversity in our appearance, tied to variations in our DNA. I am out of my depth here but I think I understand the gist of how it works. There are various mutations in genes that are completely harmless. Other mutations cause significant problems. Still other mutations in our genes make survival impossible.
I became part of the Churches of Christ for three reasons. The first was our knowledge of and devotion to Scripture. The second was that we are a "unity movement" or at least started that way. The third reason? To somehow partner with God to heal our divided congregations and world.
I hear story after story about what God is doing around the world and by around the world, a lot of it is in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It is truly astounding the amount of growth that is happening in those places and we need to be incredibly grateful that it is taking place.
Prayer walking is one of the most eye-opening practices I have experienced as a Christian. I had never heard of this or considered it until a few years ago when we planted a church. All those years, I had driven past my neighbors and driven through the neighborhoods in order to "get to church." All of a sudden, it became clear that all of those homes included people who needed Jesus and we needed to find a way to be out and among the people who live near us.