Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Church's Task
I want you to be thinking about this question before Sunday evening: "What is the church's task in relation to God's stated future?" I hope as you read this question you experience a little cognitive discord. Your mind ought to focus in on "God's stated future." God's stated future is simply what He says will be the ultimate reality or culmination of all things. Does God give us any glimpses of the future? If so, what are they? Here are a few verses which should serve as a starting point in your thinking: Acts 3:19ff, Romans 8:18ff, 1 Co. 15; Is. 65:17-25; Revelation 21-22; 2 Pet. 3:10ff. Then, what is the church's task in relation to this stated future? Is it passive or active?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sunday Evening Preview
As we begin this process of discovery, it would be beneficial to start thinking outloud about our own perceptions of the mission of the church. We will discuss the following questions publically Sunday evening for those who are in the large auditorium. If you won't be there Sunday, don't allow that to stop you from participating. Feel free to use this forum to be heard.
Ask yourself some of these questions:
Ask yourself some of these questions:
- What did Jesus do while on earth? What would he do if he were here today? What would be of utmost concern to him? What would receive the bulk of his attention and efforts?
- What are some of the images and names given to the church (family, flock, etc.) and what might those tell us about our purposes?
- What did the early churches do? Do you think they were all identical?
- What did Christ tell his followers to do?
You may think in these terms as well:
- Why does the church exist?
- What are we to be?
- What are we to do?
- How are we to do it?
Feel free to respond on here to help move the discussion along (please).
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Personal Blog
I've created another blog which will be more personal in nature and geared toward a wider readership, rather than just EPCOC. Feel free to peruse at your leisure. www.zachnostic.blogspot.com
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
What Are We Doing?
If you have not read the first post, please do so before reading any further. If you were not with us Sunday night, we took the first baby step in what can be a most wonderful process of discovering God's mission for the EPCOC. We will continue that theme on Sunday evenings until Life Groups begin after Lads. Don't think for a minute that we will actually finish the process before then; we are simply laying the groundwork for the coming months.
Mission statements; purpose statements? These sound more like corporate American than authentic Christianity. I would agree if we were operating under the guise of building up some institution for personal gain or notoriety or prestige or power. But we labor under some different parameters. We are seeking to be specific about what God desires for the church here. Our goal is His glory, not ours. We seek the expansion of His Kingdom, not our own sphere of personal dominion or power. So while we borrow some of the tools of businesses or corporations, we are in actuality pursuing the mission of God in today's terminology (a rather Biblical practice).
Our goal, then, is to DISCOVER (not create) God's mission for the church here and put that in some concrete terms which will resonate with us and inspire us to service. We will discuss some of the benifits of this at a later time. What I want to do initially is review our Sunday conversation and solicite some input.
Sunday we commented on some of the most common factors which influence the direction any church goes. Some churches are propelled (or should I say anchored) by tradition. "We've always done it this way" is the catch phrase and operative principle. The results are stagnation and the status quo (which is really slow death). Others are driven by strong personalities. The modern pastor system naturally leads to this. Select individuals hold captive the church and initiative and vision are squashed amongst the membeship. Other churches are driven by finances. Faith is slowly removed from the equation. Many churches continue on by the driving force of programs. If there are several programs going on at once, the church must be doing God's will. Some churches are dominated by buildings. Massive amounts of energy and effort are expended in the procurement of bigger, better, and nicer facilities, while the weightier matters of the law come in a distant second. Many churches are event oriented. If the calendar is full, the church is content. Some are driven primarily by seekers. "What do the unchurched want?"
No one, including myself, would totally disparage all of these efforts. What we would disparage is the overriding force that dominates many churches. Our goal is to be a church that is driven by God's mission. Once this is discovered the right balance can be brought to the above mentioned factors in the church.
I'm glad we have this opportunity to study together. What I would ask of you is that you join me in this process of evaluation and introspection for the good of the kingdom. Pray about this. Feel free to add your thoughts to this initial post. Expect more to come.
Mission statements; purpose statements? These sound more like corporate American than authentic Christianity. I would agree if we were operating under the guise of building up some institution for personal gain or notoriety or prestige or power. But we labor under some different parameters. We are seeking to be specific about what God desires for the church here. Our goal is His glory, not ours. We seek the expansion of His Kingdom, not our own sphere of personal dominion or power. So while we borrow some of the tools of businesses or corporations, we are in actuality pursuing the mission of God in today's terminology (a rather Biblical practice).
Our goal, then, is to DISCOVER (not create) God's mission for the church here and put that in some concrete terms which will resonate with us and inspire us to service. We will discuss some of the benifits of this at a later time. What I want to do initially is review our Sunday conversation and solicite some input.
Sunday we commented on some of the most common factors which influence the direction any church goes. Some churches are propelled (or should I say anchored) by tradition. "We've always done it this way" is the catch phrase and operative principle. The results are stagnation and the status quo (which is really slow death). Others are driven by strong personalities. The modern pastor system naturally leads to this. Select individuals hold captive the church and initiative and vision are squashed amongst the membeship. Other churches are driven by finances. Faith is slowly removed from the equation. Many churches continue on by the driving force of programs. If there are several programs going on at once, the church must be doing God's will. Some churches are dominated by buildings. Massive amounts of energy and effort are expended in the procurement of bigger, better, and nicer facilities, while the weightier matters of the law come in a distant second. Many churches are event oriented. If the calendar is full, the church is content. Some are driven primarily by seekers. "What do the unchurched want?"
No one, including myself, would totally disparage all of these efforts. What we would disparage is the overriding force that dominates many churches. Our goal is to be a church that is driven by God's mission. Once this is discovered the right balance can be brought to the above mentioned factors in the church.
I'm glad we have this opportunity to study together. What I would ask of you is that you join me in this process of evaluation and introspection for the good of the kingdom. Pray about this. Feel free to add your thoughts to this initial post. Expect more to come.
Rules of Engagement
READ FIRST!!
Got your attention didn't I? I thought it would be helpful to say a few things regarding this communication arena. Many of you are probably conversant with this format of dialogue. Good. If not, you will catch on. The whole point here is to speed up and improve our communication. This naturally leads to better productivity and effectiveness (which is what we all want, right?). Feel free to express divergent opinions and ideas. That is actually what makes these things tick. It's almost a thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis sort of thing (google Marx and Hegel if you're bored). Another way of saying it is this: "OPEN UP, BE HONEST." This format will allow us to do some major introspection and personal evaluation. Without your participation, this will be a onesided monologue, which, I promise, will become boring and useless. So, are you ready?
Got your attention didn't I? I thought it would be helpful to say a few things regarding this communication arena. Many of you are probably conversant with this format of dialogue. Good. If not, you will catch on. The whole point here is to speed up and improve our communication. This naturally leads to better productivity and effectiveness (which is what we all want, right?). Feel free to express divergent opinions and ideas. That is actually what makes these things tick. It's almost a thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis sort of thing (google Marx and Hegel if you're bored). Another way of saying it is this: "OPEN UP, BE HONEST." This format will allow us to do some major introspection and personal evaluation. Without your participation, this will be a onesided monologue, which, I promise, will become boring and useless. So, are you ready?
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