A break from Proverbs
Today
we are to start of a new chapter in the book of Proverbs so I thought
it might be good break to share with you some other readings that I do
from blogs off of the internet. I share a lot of this with the
overseers but thought I would create a devotional for you of some of
these articles, just the highlights.
One blog I read almost everyday is www.challies.com written by Tim Challies. He posted an article on August 1st called "There Are 3 Types of Churches." Here is a summary of that post.
The first church is the church that doesn't love. Everyone kind of stays in there own place and doesn't venture over to others, attenders or visitors. They are contend coming in, finding their spot, taking in the sermon and sacraments if offered, maybe shaking the pastor's hand, and leaving to repeat in 7 days. They comes to church to get something but not give something.
The second church is the church that loves one another. As a visitor you see regular attenders speaking to one another, hugging one another, and maybe even praying with each other. There are smiles on their faces and they will travel across the room to make physical contact. The problem is that they are loving themselves so much that they neglect someone who is new. Their agenda is so full of the people of the church that there is no time or space to include in someone who is visiting the church.
The third church is the church that loves you. In this church people love one another but they make a special effort to break away from long term relationships to make a new one. The visitor might be there for just one Sunday but that makes no difference to those who attend this church. They have eyes, ears, and arms for all the people who are in the building.
So which church are we? The most biblical church is the third one and to be that church takes you, the individual regular attender, crossing the aisle and making every effort to welcome especially those who you do not know.
Here is a second post by a man named Carey Nieuwhof called "5 Basic Mistakes Churches Make Over and Over Again." It was posted on July 6th and here is the summary. http://careynieuwhof.com/blog/
The mission of the church is tremendously important. Do we treat it that way? The church is the conduit that God has appointed to share the gospel with the world. The church expresses the hope and grace of Jesus through its words and actions. What doesn't help us on this tremendously important task?
The first mistake is thinking cheap. It is okay to be frugal but make those purchases be of quality so the frugality comes in because it has lasted so long. Many of our purchases in the church can be the cheapest and we end up buying another before the quality item would have outlasted 2 or 3 of the inferior ones. Eliminate possible breakdowns by purchasing quality materials on the front side of the equation.
The second mistake is starting late. We don't start early because we have given a time when things are going to start but we also don't start late because we have given a time when things are going to start. This not only honors the time of those attending but it also honors the importance of what we are doing especially in the worship of God at our weekly gatherings.
The third mistake is deciding it's good enough. I have actually heard this many times, "It's good enough for the church." It is amazing that those same people who say that would not think it good enough in their own homes. It is the attitude that we give God our mediocrity. We sure put a lot on the Holy Spirit to clean up what we could have put some more time and effort into. I hear a lot say that they give 110% to the ball team they are on or the work they do in the marketplace or a hobby they enjoy. What would be the percentage that you give to God through the efforts of the church?
The fourth mistake is choosing easy over effective. We love comfortable but comfortable doesn't gain ground, it settles for what is. Being effective pushes us to dig deeper to reach out farther. Being effective is hard work but it is worth it when you get to see another come to Christ and God let you and your church relay His message of salvation through your words and actions.
The fifth mistake is thinking that conversations like these are unspiritual. We are talking strategy here and procedures that involve change that might not make everybody happy. The ultimate goal of the church or your life is not to be happy but rather to be holy. Not committing these mistakes takes action, prayers, and planning. If we don't speak up then we will commit these over and over again. Is the mission of the church worth some very practical discussions on our faults?
I hope you received some insight from these two blog posts this morning. We will be back to Proverbs 5 on Sunday. Let's pray.
"Lord, help us to look very closely at the mission of the church we attend and our effort put forth to honor You with our words and actions. You have assembled this group together to act out Christianity to our community and especially those who come through the doors of this building dedicated to the worship of You. Point out our faults so that we can strategically do something about them because it is really important to worship You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
One blog I read almost everyday is www.challies.com written by Tim Challies. He posted an article on August 1st called "There Are 3 Types of Churches." Here is a summary of that post.
The first church is the church that doesn't love. Everyone kind of stays in there own place and doesn't venture over to others, attenders or visitors. They are contend coming in, finding their spot, taking in the sermon and sacraments if offered, maybe shaking the pastor's hand, and leaving to repeat in 7 days. They comes to church to get something but not give something.
The second church is the church that loves one another. As a visitor you see regular attenders speaking to one another, hugging one another, and maybe even praying with each other. There are smiles on their faces and they will travel across the room to make physical contact. The problem is that they are loving themselves so much that they neglect someone who is new. Their agenda is so full of the people of the church that there is no time or space to include in someone who is visiting the church.
The third church is the church that loves you. In this church people love one another but they make a special effort to break away from long term relationships to make a new one. The visitor might be there for just one Sunday but that makes no difference to those who attend this church. They have eyes, ears, and arms for all the people who are in the building.
So which church are we? The most biblical church is the third one and to be that church takes you, the individual regular attender, crossing the aisle and making every effort to welcome especially those who you do not know.
Here is a second post by a man named Carey Nieuwhof called "5 Basic Mistakes Churches Make Over and Over Again." It was posted on July 6th and here is the summary. http://careynieuwhof.com/blog/
The mission of the church is tremendously important. Do we treat it that way? The church is the conduit that God has appointed to share the gospel with the world. The church expresses the hope and grace of Jesus through its words and actions. What doesn't help us on this tremendously important task?
The first mistake is thinking cheap. It is okay to be frugal but make those purchases be of quality so the frugality comes in because it has lasted so long. Many of our purchases in the church can be the cheapest and we end up buying another before the quality item would have outlasted 2 or 3 of the inferior ones. Eliminate possible breakdowns by purchasing quality materials on the front side of the equation.
The second mistake is starting late. We don't start early because we have given a time when things are going to start but we also don't start late because we have given a time when things are going to start. This not only honors the time of those attending but it also honors the importance of what we are doing especially in the worship of God at our weekly gatherings.
The third mistake is deciding it's good enough. I have actually heard this many times, "It's good enough for the church." It is amazing that those same people who say that would not think it good enough in their own homes. It is the attitude that we give God our mediocrity. We sure put a lot on the Holy Spirit to clean up what we could have put some more time and effort into. I hear a lot say that they give 110% to the ball team they are on or the work they do in the marketplace or a hobby they enjoy. What would be the percentage that you give to God through the efforts of the church?
The fourth mistake is choosing easy over effective. We love comfortable but comfortable doesn't gain ground, it settles for what is. Being effective pushes us to dig deeper to reach out farther. Being effective is hard work but it is worth it when you get to see another come to Christ and God let you and your church relay His message of salvation through your words and actions.
The fifth mistake is thinking that conversations like these are unspiritual. We are talking strategy here and procedures that involve change that might not make everybody happy. The ultimate goal of the church or your life is not to be happy but rather to be holy. Not committing these mistakes takes action, prayers, and planning. If we don't speak up then we will commit these over and over again. Is the mission of the church worth some very practical discussions on our faults?
I hope you received some insight from these two blog posts this morning. We will be back to Proverbs 5 on Sunday. Let's pray.
"Lord, help us to look very closely at the mission of the church we attend and our effort put forth to honor You with our words and actions. You have assembled this group together to act out Christianity to our community and especially those who come through the doors of this building dedicated to the worship of You. Point out our faults so that we can strategically do something about them because it is really important to worship You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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