Dear Friends,
Not long ago I was given a copy of a book entitled, “Gaining by Losing” by J. D. Greear. Its message may not be what many want to hear, but I believe it is what we (if we are Christian) need to hear. In this excerpt I have chosen to share the first of four things he believes we need to understand, and do, if we love Jesus, and desire to see His Church grow. I have found myself nodding in affirmation often! I would encourage any believer to get a copy and read it. It is insightful, wise, practical and (in my opinion) spot-on. Enjoy.
Why the Future Belongs to Churches That Send
1.) Increasingly, in a post-Christian society, unbelievers will simply not make their way into Our churches, no matter how ‘attractive’ we make them.
For years, the Western Church has enjoyed a common Christian language with the culture through which we could communicate the gospel. Not everyone went to church, of course, but the bedrock of the culture was Christian. Our primary focus has been calling “lapsed” or delinquent Christians back to the God of their fathers. But our world in the West is changing. The number of people checking “none” for religious affiliation on censuses increases at an astounding rate each year. “Nones,” as they are called, do not casually make their way into churches – for any reason. We have to think of them as we would people of a completely different religion.
I lived in a Muslim country for several years, and I was friends with dozens of people who went to the mosque weekly. At no point did I consider going with them. I wouldn’t have gone for a special holiday. I wouldn’t have gone if I were facing hard times. I wouldn’t have gone if the imam were doing a really helpful series on relationships or if he told really funny stories that helped me see how Allah was relevant to my life. I wouldn’t have gone had they added percussion and a kickin’ electric guitar to the prayer chants. Islam was a completely foreign world, and one in which I knew I clearly didn’t belong. So, I didn’t go.
I take that back. I did visit the mosque one time, because a Muslim friend invited me, and I wanted to honor him by learning more about his life and faith. It was an unmitigated disaster. First, we had to sit in weird, uncomfortable positions for extended periods of time. And everyone but me seemed to know what to say at various points of the service. They would all suddenly stand up, in unison, leaving me clamoring to get to my feet, which was hard when you couldn’t feel your legs anymore. They all dressed in the same outfit, and my Nike shirt and Levi jeans made me feel pretty out of place. At one point they sang out an “Amen.” At that point I thought I knew the drill, hearkening back to my days in a country Baptist church. So I hit the harmony note. No one else deviated from the primary note. Everyone turned to stare at me. I felt like a side of bacon at a bar mitzvah.
It was an awful experience, and although my friend invited me back several times, I always managed to find a reason to not be able to go. The mosque was a portal to a completely different world, and I didn’t have an Islamic faith that would compel me to put up with the discomfort required to learn the unfamiliar ways of that world. This is a bit what it is like for people in the post-Christian West as they look into the Christian church. A British friend of mine, Steve Timmis cites a recent study in Great Britain in which 70 percent of the Brits declare that they have no intention of ever attending a church service for any reason. Not Easter. Not for marriages. Nor for funerals or Christmas Eve services. For more than two-thirds of the people in Great Britain, nothing will carry them naturally into a church. In light of this, Steve comments:
“That means new styles of worship will not reach them. Fresh expressions of church will not reach them. Alpha and Christianity Explored courses will not reach them. Great first impressions will not reach them. Churches meeting in pubs will not reach them…. The vast majority of un-churched and de-churched people would not turn to the church, even if faced with difficult personal circumstances or in the event of national tragedies. It is not a question of “improving the product” of church meetings and evangelistic events. It means reaching people apart from meetings and events.”
Great Britain is a few years ahead of the United States in secularization, but judging by the rapidly increasing percentage of those reporting “none” for religious affiliation, I believe we will be there before too long. This means that if we don’t equip our people to carry the gospel outside of our meetings, our events, our gatherings and programs, we are going to lose all audience with them. A few flashier and flashier mega-churches will likely keep fighting for larger pieces of a shrinking pie. Yet there is another alternative: we can grow the pie. But that means teaching our people to engage people outside the church.
As much as we might prefer to think the attractional model of church growth is the answer, studies are showing that it’s simply not working – not if by “church-growth” we mean bringing unbelievers to Christ. As he points out elsewhere: “Only 20% of churches in America are growing, and only 1% of churches are growing by reaching lost people. So, 95% of the church growth we celebrate merely shuffles existing Christian around.” Most of it is not really “Church growth” at all, if Church growth is measured in terms of non-believers being converted to Christ and added to the Church.
Not long ago I was given a copy of a book entitled, “Gaining by Losing” by J. D. Greear. Its message may not be what many want to hear, but I believe it is what we (if we are Christian) need to hear. In this excerpt I have chosen to share the first of four things he believes we need to understand, and do, if we love Jesus, and desire to see His Church grow. I have found myself nodding in affirmation often! I would encourage any believer to get a copy and read it. It is insightful, wise, practical and (in my opinion) spot-on. Enjoy.
Why the Future Belongs to Churches That Send
1.) Increasingly, in a post-Christian society, unbelievers will simply not make their way into Our churches, no matter how ‘attractive’ we make them.
For years, the Western Church has enjoyed a common Christian language with the culture through which we could communicate the gospel. Not everyone went to church, of course, but the bedrock of the culture was Christian. Our primary focus has been calling “lapsed” or delinquent Christians back to the God of their fathers. But our world in the West is changing. The number of people checking “none” for religious affiliation on censuses increases at an astounding rate each year. “Nones,” as they are called, do not casually make their way into churches – for any reason. We have to think of them as we would people of a completely different religion.
I lived in a Muslim country for several years, and I was friends with dozens of people who went to the mosque weekly. At no point did I consider going with them. I wouldn’t have gone for a special holiday. I wouldn’t have gone if I were facing hard times. I wouldn’t have gone if the imam were doing a really helpful series on relationships or if he told really funny stories that helped me see how Allah was relevant to my life. I wouldn’t have gone had they added percussion and a kickin’ electric guitar to the prayer chants. Islam was a completely foreign world, and one in which I knew I clearly didn’t belong. So, I didn’t go.
I take that back. I did visit the mosque one time, because a Muslim friend invited me, and I wanted to honor him by learning more about his life and faith. It was an unmitigated disaster. First, we had to sit in weird, uncomfortable positions for extended periods of time. And everyone but me seemed to know what to say at various points of the service. They would all suddenly stand up, in unison, leaving me clamoring to get to my feet, which was hard when you couldn’t feel your legs anymore. They all dressed in the same outfit, and my Nike shirt and Levi jeans made me feel pretty out of place. At one point they sang out an “Amen.” At that point I thought I knew the drill, hearkening back to my days in a country Baptist church. So I hit the harmony note. No one else deviated from the primary note. Everyone turned to stare at me. I felt like a side of bacon at a bar mitzvah.
It was an awful experience, and although my friend invited me back several times, I always managed to find a reason to not be able to go. The mosque was a portal to a completely different world, and I didn’t have an Islamic faith that would compel me to put up with the discomfort required to learn the unfamiliar ways of that world. This is a bit what it is like for people in the post-Christian West as they look into the Christian church. A British friend of mine, Steve Timmis cites a recent study in Great Britain in which 70 percent of the Brits declare that they have no intention of ever attending a church service for any reason. Not Easter. Not for marriages. Nor for funerals or Christmas Eve services. For more than two-thirds of the people in Great Britain, nothing will carry them naturally into a church. In light of this, Steve comments:
“That means new styles of worship will not reach them. Fresh expressions of church will not reach them. Alpha and Christianity Explored courses will not reach them. Great first impressions will not reach them. Churches meeting in pubs will not reach them…. The vast majority of un-churched and de-churched people would not turn to the church, even if faced with difficult personal circumstances or in the event of national tragedies. It is not a question of “improving the product” of church meetings and evangelistic events. It means reaching people apart from meetings and events.”
Great Britain is a few years ahead of the United States in secularization, but judging by the rapidly increasing percentage of those reporting “none” for religious affiliation, I believe we will be there before too long. This means that if we don’t equip our people to carry the gospel outside of our meetings, our events, our gatherings and programs, we are going to lose all audience with them. A few flashier and flashier mega-churches will likely keep fighting for larger pieces of a shrinking pie. Yet there is another alternative: we can grow the pie. But that means teaching our people to engage people outside the church.
As much as we might prefer to think the attractional model of church growth is the answer, studies are showing that it’s simply not working – not if by “church-growth” we mean bringing unbelievers to Christ. As he points out elsewhere: “Only 20% of churches in America are growing, and only 1% of churches are growing by reaching lost people. So, 95% of the church growth we celebrate merely shuffles existing Christian around.” Most of it is not really “Church growth” at all, if Church growth is measured in terms of non-believers being converted to Christ and added to the Church.
So, again, Greear’s book is well worth the time it would take to read it. And if put into practice, I would suggest it would lead – over time – to true Church growth. The question is: How much does it burden our hearts to see that actual or true Church growth take place?
With You in the Struggle to Reach People for Christ, Pastor Jeff
With You in the Struggle to Reach People for Christ, Pastor Jeff
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