Upload
hapber
View
218
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/15/2019 3 Ways to Make the Church More Effective
1/2
3 Ways to Make the Church More
Efective
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house. – Matthew !"
To be a Christian means to stand in witness for Christ. All of us, no matter our
background, are called to share the Good News with the people of our world ( Mark
16:15). Its a huge responsibilit!, a great honor, and a noble calling. "nfortunatel!,
Christians arent alwa!s skillful when it comes to sharing the gospel. #ith all the
changes taking place in modern societ!, man! belie$ers are %uestioning the
Churchs effecti$eness in leading others to Christ.
&d 'teter is one such Christian. In a recent column for Christianity Today,
'teter proposed that churches needed to change their methods if the! wanted to
continue reaching communities. As an eample, he pointed to the use of pathwa!s,
#athways transitions people away from apathy into groups where they$ll provo%e one
another to love and good deeds & Heb. 10:24 '. (e need to help people live as agents
of )od$s mission. *ometimes you have to stop doing good things to do the best
things. +hat$s always a hard call, especially for churches. hurches that refuse to
budge on inerrancy of *cripture should be commended. hurches that confuseinerrancy with methodology should be corrected.
+hat tendency can be applied to aspects of ministry that have outlived their
usefulness. (e need clearer systems and processes that lead people from passivity
to activity in involvement in the mission of )od and serving one another.
#hitne! *opler, another $oice on Christian transformation, takes a more
introspecti$e approach. 'he advises Christians to change their attitude on worship,
which she belie$es has grown stale o$er the !ears. 'he writes,
http://www.biblestudytools.com/mark/16-15.htmlhttp://www.biblestudytools.com/mark/16-15.htmlhttp://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2016/june/3-church-methods-that-need-to-change.htmlhttp://www.biblestudytools.com/hebrews/10-24.htmlhttp://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/how-to-make-your-preaching-worship.htmlhttp://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2016/june/3-church-methods-that-need-to-change.htmlhttp://www.biblestudytools.com/hebrews/10-24.htmlhttp://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/how-to-make-your-preaching-worship.htmlhttp://www.biblestudytools.com/mark/16-15.htmlhttp://www.biblestudytools.com/mark/16-15.html
8/15/2019 3 Ways to Make the Church More Effective
2/2
Receive the Gift of Worship Gratefully
“*ince it$s only through )od$s love and power that you and the others in your church
can offer yourselves as living sacrifices to )od through worship and e-perience the
profound blessings of encountering )od through worship, be than%ful. eep in mind
that gratitude is the foundation of worship as a church community.+
inall!, Nick *all, the founder of -"'& and author of /eset , belie$es we all need to
be more like /esus. Too often the gospel becomes entangled in politics, social
issues, or personal egos. /esus, on the other hand, was concerned about people,
and that meant stepping into lifes messes. In a section of /eset he states,
ut !thers a"ove #ourself
“If we spend time with 0esus, then we will naturally be driven to do the things that
0esus did. In other words, if you tell me you$re hanging out with 0esus every day and
yet there is no desire in your life to share your faith, or love those he gave his life
for, then we should probably dig a little deeper to find out what version of 0esus we
are tal%ing about.1
The gospel message will ne$er change, but as &d 'teter suggested earlier, perhaps
its methods should. #e li$e in a culture which $iews the Church with increasing fear and suspicion, and the old s!stems of ministr! are no longer working. If we continue
to hold on to bad strategies, the strength of e$angelism will onl! weaken. Now is the
time to let our lights shine, so let us renew our efforts to share the Good News with
all people.
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/how-to-put-others-above-yourself.htmlhttp://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/how-to-put-others-above-yourself.htmlhttp://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/how-to-put-others-above-yourself.htmlhttp://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/how-to-put-others-above-yourself.htmlhttp://www.crosswalk.com/faith/http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/how-to-put-others-above-yourself.htmlhttp://www.crosswalk.com/faith/