For a class I was asked to outline 10 issues (with explanation) that I believe are imperative for the church take note of in order to become the kind of church God has designed it to be. These issues are an outflow of my thoughts as I have have grown up in church and have been in ministry for the past eight years. Not all of the ideas are my own unique thoughts.
1."We're called to make disciples … not members." I find it clear in the great commission that Jesus has called us to make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded. However, membership in local churches seems to be more about identification or right moral standing than actual discipleship. I could care less whether I have 1,000 members on our church role if they are not committed.
We have covenant Membership at the Bridge. We do this to make our focus on discipleship, and not on how many members we can place on our roles.
2.“Get attenders out of a bib, and into an apron.” A true disciple of Jesus Christ will serve. Please reference Matthew 25:34-40.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' We have enough pew-sitters. True disciples of Jesus Christ will serve the weak and neglected. They will be trained, discipled, and sent.
They will do it as outflowing of the love of God in their hearts as displayed in the world.
3.“Discipleship occurs exponentially in smaller groups, and progresses slowly in large groups.” I have found that the “teaching them to obey my commands” part of the great commission happens exponentially quicker in the context of small groups as opposed to large group (Sunday morning sermon). There is something about doing life together, sharing in a small group, and studying scripture with a group of 6-12 that has more of an impact then soaking in a service with 400 others.
4.“Church is the people of God, not a building” Church is not a place that we go, it is the people of God wherever they are at. While I believe that the weekend service, teaching, training, and worship is ABSOLUTELY Biblical (we all need each other and have different spiritual gifts to use), we MUST be training attenders to be the church in the world and not just hide inside the four temple walls.
5.“It is time to stop compartmentalizing our faith.” The American church tends to compartmentalize faith. By this I mean that we section off our lives to include: soccer, school, work, church, baseball, shopping, fishing, small group, beauty time, family time, and quiet time. Faith should be the center of every aspect of our lives. It should be more than a compartment on a pie chart. It should be the center of our lives with everything else an outflowing of our faith in Christ.
6.“Every member MUST be a minister. Every member is a minister doesn't cut it.” The American church reminds me too much of an NBA basketball game. How? At an NBA game there are about 20,000 people desperately in need of exercise, watching ten people desperately in need of rest. This is how much of the American church operates. There are 1000 pew sitters, watching 10 people do a majority of the work. I greatly value the Biblical fact that every member is a minister and now it is time to put some teeth to it.
7. “Parents are responsible to train their children in the faith, not just send them off to children's ministry.” I think we need to re-think the way most children's ministries operate. Our church is moving to a new model this fall where we will have a family service once a month where we train the parents how to teach their children the monthly curriculum. We will still have a Bridge Kids time each Sunday morning, but the main trainer of the child will be the parent. Thus children's ministries should spend just as much budget on training parents as on teaching children. And a church should definitely spend four times more on training parents than on offering a VBS.
8.“Missions is more than something you write a check for.” There has been an simplistic understanding that supporting missions or “doing” missions work can be deduced to writing and sending checks. I believe that the church needs to be a sending agent of people, not just money. I do think that there are special people who are called to mission work full-time, but all disciples of Christ should feel compelled to physically go on a mission trip and will grow exponentially through the obedient service.
9.“Missions work should be developmental.” I have recently changed my mind about missions work. Providing a band-aid for those in need is not enough; simply providing aid doesn't cut it. Neither does sharing a message and leaving them to figure out the rest of life on their own. We are to work long term with those in need. We need to teach them the faith and how to live. I am fond of the model Project Chacocente has developed. This project takes people off a dump in Managua, Nicaragua and literally re-introduces them to society. Those coming off the dump commit for five years to build their own home, be trained in four trades, get an education, and be taught the faith. They are providing long-term assistance and not one time aid. This is proving to be an invaluable discipleship strategy as well. I just experienced five families graduating the mission and receiving the titles on their home.
10.“Church is not a democracy.” I figure that this will be my most controversial statement. However, throughout the Bible God speaks to leaders who then teach the people. I can not find an example of this occurring the opposite way. If you can find in the Bible where a prophet or Biblical leader, goes and meets with the people and lets them vote on what's God's will is, and then after democratically taking a poll proceeds with the “church ministry,” I'll consider changing my mind. I feel that church is really a theocracy led by God and then guided and instituted by the elders.
