Thought PROVOKING...

A friend of mine posted a link to a blog the other day that still has me thinking...

So, I want to share some of what the writer wrote and for those who want to read the whole blog I will share that link too!

Here are a few quotes...

"The turnaround of the mainline churches will happen when we in those churches care as much about those outside the church, as we do those inside. To embrace relevance, we will have to let go of survival."

This is nothing new but it is the heart of the challenge before us right now!   Too many of us are concerned about survival of our church.   And that fact forces us to emphasize he wants of those who are on the inside and in so doing we miss the needs of those who are not part of us.

"The world is hell-bent on destruction in countless ways. It is desperately in need of a church that offers a Way of peace, truth, compassion and hope, as opposed to the world’s way of power, materialism, exploitation and violence. It needs leaders willing to risk comfort, status and economic security for the life of the world and the outreach potential of the church. It needs a church that looks less like the Pharisees’ religion and more like Jesus’ ministry. It needs a church that is willing to sacrifice everything for those outside: buildings, budgets, sacred cows, traditions, structures. It needs a church that so loves the world, that she’d be willing to die for it."

This is the kind of ministry Jesus modeled and calls us to and if we adopted it, we would be making an impact in our world in huge ways.

And here is the writer's radical approach to making this change...

"So here’s the plan. New policy. Every decision, every single decision made by staff, council and every committee is made on behalf of those not yet here. Every sermon choice, every hymn, song and musical choice, every building and grounds choice, every spending choice is made with outsiders in mind."

The heart of the matter here is that it is so easy for the church to institutionalize and thus become irrelevant to the needs of the people outside it's walls and relevant to the needs of the people who are part of it's life.   And no amount of course adjustment will cure this reality once for all... it calls for constant course adjustment in order to connect with people outside our walls.