Sometimes I keep forgetting that the end goal of all this is relationship and community. By “this” I mean evangelism, edification, redeeming social media for the Gospel, looking for new and innovative ways to communicate a time-tested Message, and etc. It’s all about bringing as much people as we can into God’s family.
I periodically forget, do you?
Two posts brought this back to my memory.
The first was by Pete Wilson. He talked about his church’s goal of building (or rebuilding) the kind of community Jesus built. He said,
“Jesus modeled a community for us where everyone’s welcome. He would welcome, love, accept, embrace, and include anybody who came up to Him. It didn’t matter—prostitutes, Samaritans, tax collectors, Gentiles, lepers, or sinners. We dream of a church where people, even if they don’t agree with everything we believe yet and even if they don’t understand everything we teach yet, can discover a place where they are welcome ‘as they are’…We dream of creating a community at Cross Point where there is no need for hiding, no need for reputation building, no need to impress anybody because we are all sinners, saved and living by grace.”
A dream community: a place where everyone knows your name; a place where people accept you for who you are and not who you pretend to be. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for?
The second post was by Kerry Bural. He began the post talking about his sister who left her second husband, the husband then tried to committ suicide…and the rest you can read about (you’ll be glad that you did). Then he said,
“The world is full of broken people. My family is no exception. People whose lives have been chewed up and spit out by the spiritual death grip of the evil one. People with no hope, no purpose and no one who cares.
But God’s grace has invaded our lives.”
And then he ended the post with this sentence: “It’s really not about church growth, marketing or branding.”
And you know what…in the long long run…it really isn’t.
Don’t get me wrong I believe in marketing, branding, innovation, sound theology, and all that good stuff…but in the end its all about Christ. Its all about Him: us sharing Him with the world, us growing up in Him, and our lives giving glory to His Name. Paul said it best, “He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts to His church. Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the Body of Christ. This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God’s Son, until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, Who is the standard.” [1]
What are your thoughts?
- Ephesians 4:11-13 (God’s Word Translation)
[Images: Holy Trinity Church, Kansas State University]
