by Les | May 18, 2022 | Click Date to Respond
A number of years ago our family was vacationing in West Virginia. On a Sunday evening we, and the people we were visiting, entered a small country church for evening services. As services began the music leader said that he remembered the day that he was saved (pronounced save-ed), some thirty years prior, like it was only yesterday. I later mentioned the speaker’s zeal to the people we were visiting and got a response similar to this, “It is too bad that he hasn’t moved forward and grown since that day.”
This reminds me of something another friend once said to me. He said that there are only three things that a Christian is to do. The first is to make disciples and the second is to help the new disciple to grow in faith and knowledge. The third and final thing a Christian is to do is send the prepared, mature disciple out to make more disciples.
Far too many churches concentrate on the first step, making disciples, and fail to mentor new Christians. New disciples need patient guidance and instruction if they are to grow in their faith.
Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20 read as this, “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus himself instructed Christians to teach new Christians to obey his instructions. If we fail to teach new Christians then we are failing to fulfill His great commission. We, as disciples of Christ, are to help others to experience God, grow in faith and to serve others.
by Les | May 10, 2022 | Click Date to Respond
I came across an interesting blog (a) by Carey Nieuwhof the other day. I have since learned that Carey Nieuwhof is the founding pastor of Connexus Church in Barne, Ontario, Canada. His church is one of the most influential churches in North America.
The blog page that caught my attention was titled, ’10 Predictions About the Future Church and Shifting Attendance Patterns’. In his blog, Pastor Nieuwhof reminds us that every generation experiences change. He cites statistical information (gathered by the Barna Group) that says that North Americans over the age of 30 were born into a Christian culture but very soon those who have no church affiliation will outnumber those who have church affiliation. He further states that “… 48% of Millennials (born between 1984-2002) can be called post-Christian in their beliefs, thinking and worldview”. This means that the church, to be effective in its mission to create disciples, must change because the people the church is attempting to reach think differently that most who attend church.
Predictions are just that, predictions or guesses about what the future will bring. But I am hopeful that Pastor Nieuwhof is right.
Below will be a synopsis of Pastor Nieuwhof’s predictions. If you want further details please visit the link provided at the bottom.
1. ‘The potential to gain is greater than the potential to lose.’
The author reminds the reader that ‘the church’ was Jesus’ idea, not mankind’s. The church has the ability to survive mankind’s and cultural missteps. The church has a history of pulling itself back from extinction.
2. ‘Churches that love their model more than the mission will die.’
This is basically what the book ‘Simple Church’, that Pastor Dick has recommended MABC to read, is saying. You can read more about this in either the blog or the book ‘Simple Church’.
3. ‘The gathered church is here to stay.’
There are those today who suggest that people gathering to worship is an archaic concept and should be abandoned. Pastor Nieuwhof says such a notion is naïve. Christians have always gathered and will continue to do so.
4. ‘Consumer Christianity will die and a more selfless discipleship will emerge.’
Consumer Christianity means, what can I get from God or what’s in it for me? A selfless discipleship is one of service to our fellow Servanthood always trumps selfish motivations in God’s kingdom.
5. ‘Sundays wil become more about what we give than what we get.’
With the death of consumer Christianity, corporate worship will become less about us and more about Jesus.
Currently, many churches in North America are focused on those who gather every Sunday, that is, those who have already accepted Christ into their hearts. Nieuwhof predicts that, in the future, church gatherings will become focused outward, reaching for those who are not yet Christians.
6. ‘Attendance will no longer drive engagement; engagement will drive attendance.’
Most churches today strive to get those who are attending to engage in the church activities. A more powerful church would be one where those who attend are doing so because they are already engaged.
7. ‘Simplified ministries will complement people’s lives, not compete with people’s lives.’
This is what Pastor Dick and ‘Simple Church’ are saying. As a church grows it isn’t necessary to add more ministries. Instead, simplify the method to be a more effective ministry.
A quote from the blog reads, “some churches offer so many programs for families that families don’t have a chance to be families”. Look around and you will see that statement is true for many large churches.
8. ‘Online church will supplement the journey but not become the journey.”
There is a place for streaming a church service online. But to be a church people need to gather, to join into the warmth of fellowship.
9. ‘Online church will become more of a front door than a back door.”
Far too many people today have left the church are substituting a streaming worship service rather than attend a live church service. Streaming church services are an amazing benefit for those who cannot physically attend but it was never meant to be an ‘off ramp’ from corporate worship.
Nieuwhof hopes that streaming services will, in the future, be a place for the curious to sample a church before showing up in person.
10. ‘Gatherings will be smaller and larger at the same time.”
Mega churches will continue to exist but church size will become irrelevant in a church’s effectiveness.
Nieuwhof believes that churches, large and small, will do their most effective ministry in small group gatherings. Small groups allow for a more intimate gathering and offer a wide venue of choices to meet. A small group can comfortable gather in home, coffee shop and even in a room within the church.
Utilizing small group ministry, a church body can grow while individual members of a group meet as smaller churches within it.
Link to blog – https://careynieuwhof.com/10-predictions-about-the-future-church-and-shifting-attendance-patterns/
(a) blog – a regularly updated website or web page that is written in an informal or conversational style.
by Les | Apr 14, 2022 | Click Date to Respond
George Muller was born in the Kingdom of Prussia, now a part of Germany, in 1805. Before his death in 1898 he had become a well known evangelist, missionary and the director of the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, England. During his lifetime, records show that he cared for 10,024 orphans, providing them with educational opportunities that led to him being criticized for ‘raising the poor above their natural station’ in British society. Muller also established 117 schools which offered Christian education for more than 120,000 students.
There is so much more that could be shared about Muller’s life and his work for the Lord and I encourage you to either research him on the Internet or to read a book about his marvelous life.
The story I wish to share is about Muller’s faith, in practice, that he exhibited while he was the director of Ashley Down Orphanage. This story is posted on the christianity.com website, as well as other web locations and published in books. You can read it at https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/church-history-for-kids/george-mueller-orphanages-built-by-prayer-11634869.html but I have copied, and have pasted it here for your reading. I give full acknowledgement to the online source where it can be found.
George Mueller, Orphanages Built by Prayer
“The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat,” the housemother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “Mr. Mueller,” he said, “last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.”
Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.
I marvel at Muller’s faith that the children would not go without a meal, a faith so strong that he thanked God for the meal even when there was not yet a meal to place on the tables. I am grateful for those who remembered this story in Mueller’s life; who told it, and it having been retold until it reached our eyes and ears.
I am hopeful that this story from George Mueller’s life will encourage each of us to practice greater faith.
