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.