Tell me, please?
Tell me what your church that meets on Sunday or the Church that lives as the Church everyday is doing to fulfill the Great Commission.
What are you as the Church and what is your church (the Sunday gig) doing to fulfill the Great Commission mandate of making disciples who are also making disciples?
Let's not get defensive here, but let's be honest like Jesus would be honest in how we answer. Many churches will hears the words, "Depart from me I never knew you."
Does that stir anyone like it does me?
What are you experiencing and doing to carry on the Mission of Jesus, the one He died for?
posted by Bob Carder @ 8:57 PM
12 comments
12 Comments:
Every member is a minister. We believe that every member should actively participate by generously giving their resources, time, and God-given gifts for service.
Do we believe this as a leadership team?
Do we believe this as a church?
If we do believe it, is it being accomplished?
This should not be just another program and it can’t be another program, it needs to be a mindset of our church. It is a primary biblical principle.
2 Cor. 5:20- “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”
In Ephesians 2:10, Paul writes, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”.
In 1 Peter 2:5,9, we are told, “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Every believer is gifted by God in unique and specific ways.
Rom. 12:6-8 points out the importance of every member of the family of God: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us,” Paul tells us if a man’s gift is prophesy let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”
We need to say to one another, “With your gifts, we need you. You are unique, and God wants to use you in a specific, special way.”
In Eph. 4:11-13, “It was he who gave some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
The church should be both a place for ministry, the church gathered, as well as a base for ministry outside the church building, the church scattered. When we gather, we worship God, but when we scatter, we serve God.
We are all called to be ministers, no matter what our job description at work says!
I forgot to leave my calling card. Remember the good times. You going in the dark basement with the crazy guy.
Very good anonymous
Anonymous,
I asked, Tell me what your church that meets on Sunday or the Church that lives as the Church everyday is doing to fulfill the Great Commission.
What are you as the Church and what is your church (the Sunday gig) doing to fulfill the Great Commission mandate of making disciples who are also making disciples?
While you gave great Biblical Truth, you failed to answer the real questions noted above.
Let's not give this lip service, let's give real examples of real life change. You evaded my questions. Amen on a good commentary buy you did not give an answer. What are you or your church doing to fulfill the Great Commission? Being grouchy and ruse at the waitress on Sunday noon when she serves old coffee isn't exactly what I am looking for.
Calling card, I know you are from Bedford, now give me more calling card clues. Actually that brought back memories of the guy who thought he had demons in him and in his home. So he had Bible pages torn out and lined around the outside walls of his home. He took me into the basement, at the time I thought, to kill me. But instead he wanted to show how he plugs the cracks in his basement with the Scriptures as well. His nose was stuffed with Scriptures, his ears were plugged with Scriptures.
It all started when late at night I saw this car in the church parking lot - I thought he was going to commit suicide or something.
Weired night, I have no idea why I went to his house -but I was trying to help him. Which we did do in the end.
Anyway, I was bigger than Him, so I was ready to knock his block off if he tried anything. I learned that behavior as a kid and my brothers and I (7 total and 1 sister) were the neighborhood bullies which accounts for why my nose is so crooked. My nose is crooked first because I have Cherokee Indian blood and secondly because finally I met my match in Leon who busted me good.
I have no idea why I'm telling you all of this.
While I am at it, Anonymous you are wrong in this regard...
You said:Every member is a minister. We believe that every member should actively participate by generously giving their resources, time, and God-given gifts for service.
Do we believe this as a leadership team?
Do we believe this as a church?
If we do believe it, is it being accomplished?
Well let's look at this more deeply. The way you may be describing service is being done all to well.
But Jesus never called us to this definition of service as our primary reason for living for Him. He calls all of us to fulfill the Great Commission not just a few with certain qualifying gifts. You are as am I responsible for fulfilling the Great Commission. You (we) are called to be the Church who lives purposely in the world so that people can see Jesus in us so that when they see Jesus in us then Jesus will have an opportunity through us to redeem them.
What you describe as service usually ends up being serve-us. Thus in the end the Mission of Jesus has been replaced by serve-us rather than serve the purposes of God found in the Great Commission.
Why do we invite people to church when we should be through our lives inviting them to Jesus. Inviting people to church may just be our way of ignoring the supreme mandate of making disciples personally.
I love the church that gathers to go. I dislike the church that goes to gather. Some never, most never gather to go!
How about shutting down Sunday Morning service to pick up trash after a major parade? How about going door to door passing out smoke detectors and/or new batteries? Would our former church do this? Are you anti- established church now? Oh, by the way the mushrooms you laid on my front retaining wall were very tasty!
One thing I love is that on here when a follower of Christ, let me rephrase, a "follower of Christ" gets his/her buttons pushed they get angry and quick to respond negatively. If you are truly seeking God shouldn't your conversation be constructive and if you don't like what someone is saying discuss it in a manner according to scripture. I always enjoy reading Bob's stuff, first of all because I agree with almost everything he says, but also because he pushes buttons and shows me the people I want behind me when the great deceiver gets ahold of them. Anyway, I'm not real sure where that came from, but keep up the good work Bob!!!
To they call me church,
I was not responding negatively. Bob knows me too well for that. I was presenting a response to his questions (however feeble the attempt was). If it came off as negative then I am sorry. That was not my intent. We had some very good discussions in the past. Did you say you agree with evrything he says?
I hope no one agrees with everything I say! Even when I always think I am right on, which I admit, while hard to admit, I am not always right.
Anon said, "How about shutting down Sunday Morning service to pick up trash after a major parade? How about going door to door passing out smoke detectors and/or new batteries? Would our former church do this? Are you anti- established church now? Oh, by the way the mushrooms you laid on my front retaining wall were very tasty!"
The Planter: I am not anti church but I am anti anything that keeps us from being the CHURCH! You know our former church would never do this.
1. Why should they when they are a Serve-Us church.
2. We need to hear the choir and the preacher.
3. Most of all we need the offering.
Yes let's cancel the church service and Be the Church once in a while. I'll vote for being the CHURCH over doing church every and any day.
Oh by the way, John I love you and your in depth thoughts on this. You are on your way to becoming a movement disciple maker who builds disciples to the fourth generation creating a movement that cannot be stopped.
Do it in Bedford and you will see a difference even in Mitchell.
As for the other anom, I appreciate your comments. Both anoms are on the same page, let's keep talking.
I'm all ears on this one.
I will have to do it in Mitchell and let it be seen in Bedford. We are in the process of finding a Senior Pastor. We are also trying to combat divorce as an elder board. Are you going to Catalyst in Alanta this year?
I wasn't speaking of you anonymous, I was reading through many of Bob's blogs and noticed all the rude and harsh things people say. I don't always agree 100% with what Bob says and hope that others are the same with me. So, God bless and hope you weren't offended by my comment!!!
I love the CHURCH more and more everyday. Now for the church I have little to say.
CHURCH - The gather to go and actually goes family of God.
church - The go to gather location self serving church.
Wonderful spiritual buffets every Sunday gorging themselves with the one thing going out being the remains of what went in. Do I need to draw you a picture?
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