February 2006 Archives

A thought-provoking post by scott williams:

i worry about the future of the church. i sometimes wonder why so many of the best people can no longer function within it's confines. i oft-times conjecture that denominations are fast approaching obscurity. but i no longer spend significant portions of my life introspectively wondering about what to do about it on a programmatic or theological level. things seem much simpler now. i don't have to pretend. much has been said about the state of the church and it's leaders. i'm bored with all that on a philosophical level. i'll let the eggheads contextualize the movements and it's idiosyncracies. i have to go to work.

"God's church exists not for itself but for the benefit of those who are not yet members...[and] the church which lives for itself will be sure to die by itself." (Michael Green, Adventure of Faith)

Jesus never hurries. This drives me crazy...I'm finally starting to realize the real question is, Can I move as slowly as Jesus moves? Getting rid of evil takes a lot of time. Preaching is never about what you or I make happen. It is always and only about what Jesus makes happen. And apparently Jesus is not in a hurry to get all the evil out of your congregation, is he?...Are you trying to fix your church or are you bringing it to Jesus? (Craig Barnes in The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching)

I've been reading and enjoying Organic Church, but I haven't gone to the trouble of typing many of the memorable quotes from within the book. Fortunately Steve @ Ponder This has done it for me. Here's a sample:

Many a church continues long after the soul of the church has departed because the building itself keeps them going. A building can become an artificial life support system that keeps a church alive even though it died long ago. (37)

In many church in the West, ministry is done for Jesus, but not by Jesus- therein lies the big difference. If we evaluated our churches not by attendance or buildings but by how recognizable Jesus is in our midst, our influence would be more far-reaching and our strategies would be far more dynamic. (54)

Unfortunately, in most churches in the Western world the presence of the pastor is more noticeable than the presence of Jesus. (57)

From JordonCooper.com:

Instead of trying to save the church, find your calling and toss yourself into that.  I hear from prophets all of the time (and church consultants) who have the "easy answer" and as a pastor, I am just too stupid, greedy, or endentured to the man to understand.  Instead of easy answers that are never that easy, give me some stories of hope but to do that, you have to do something first.  As Bono recently said, "He said, stop asking God to bless what you're doing.  Get involved in what God is doing - because it's already blessed."  Thankfully there are those out there leading the way.