Pastoring by its very nature makes me a student of the church, church trends and church growth. It hasn't been easy over these last years to determine what the church is doing and where it is going. Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven Church movement really hit is peak and while Evangelicals realized the blessing of this model of ministry, Spirit Filled, Pentecostal, Charasmatic churches didn't.
The struggle wasn't so much with methodology as was vision and mission. Churches that are Spirit Filled have a different spiritual DNA. Not that Evangelical churches are wrong, they're not. God just created us differently. When you take a Spirit Filled church and try to change it's DNA - it's like Michael Jackson and plastic surgery. To much is a bad thing.
What does this have to do with buy in? For years the Purpose Driven movement was telling churches that they we not buying to people, that if you make them the priority, without compromising the Gospel, God will bless it. Spirit Filled churches have always declared that Jesus comes first. That if you make Him the priority, without compromising the Gospel, God will bless it. Here's the truth - they're both right ----- and wrong. Either philosophy of ministry to its extreme will be unbiblical.
We like the Purpose Driven idea of ministry. It's about us! It's about our needs and desires! What can God do for me? The Spirit Filled approach to talks how Jesus can change your life, upon repentance of our sins. How Jesus wants to bless you, through a right relationship with Him. The first can be all about what you can get. The latter can be all about what you can give. So which church do you buy into to?
What I hear most pastors telling me is this. People say they want Spirit Filled, but their actions say Purpose Driven. In other words, "I want to get as much as I can and give as little as possible." The church that yields to that previous sentence will be exhausted, poorly funded, minimized and frustrated.
Agree - Disagree? Let me know?
More tomorrow!
The struggle wasn't so much with methodology as was vision and mission. Churches that are Spirit Filled have a different spiritual DNA. Not that Evangelical churches are wrong, they're not. God just created us differently. When you take a Spirit Filled church and try to change it's DNA - it's like Michael Jackson and plastic surgery. To much is a bad thing.
What does this have to do with buy in? For years the Purpose Driven movement was telling churches that they we not buying to people, that if you make them the priority, without compromising the Gospel, God will bless it. Spirit Filled churches have always declared that Jesus comes first. That if you make Him the priority, without compromising the Gospel, God will bless it. Here's the truth - they're both right ----- and wrong. Either philosophy of ministry to its extreme will be unbiblical.
We like the Purpose Driven idea of ministry. It's about us! It's about our needs and desires! What can God do for me? The Spirit Filled approach to talks how Jesus can change your life, upon repentance of our sins. How Jesus wants to bless you, through a right relationship with Him. The first can be all about what you can get. The latter can be all about what you can give. So which church do you buy into to?
What I hear most pastors telling me is this. People say they want Spirit Filled, but their actions say Purpose Driven. In other words, "I want to get as much as I can and give as little as possible." The church that yields to that previous sentence will be exhausted, poorly funded, minimized and frustrated.
Agree - Disagree? Let me know?
More tomorrow!
Comments
It seems that "how much can I get with as little effort as possible" is the way the world is today. It takes just a little effort to make some thing that SEEMS hard start to become easier and ultimately a habit. Spirit filled congregations need to spend more time putting their faith into action. By that I mean, look for something to do, and not wait to let someone(leadership) tell you it needs to be done. Some proactive initiative is welcomed by anyone who needs extra assistance. Think body and the sum of its parts. We need to stick together and focus on the finish line!
Mike Scanlon