Thursday, October 16, 2008

Bill Easum on conversations

1. Pay attention to the conversations going on today and see what you can learn from them. It may surprise you.
2. For those of you in spiritually alive congregations look for ways to mentor pastors in churches whose spiritual life is not so good.
3. For those of you in dying churches, get out of there as fast as you can and quit wasting your life.
4. Focus your people on the question - “What is it about my relationship with Jesus that the world cannot live without knowing?”
5. If you want your church to thrive in a pagan world you need to spend time with pagans. So get out of the office and help your members grow up spiritually.
6. Focus on growing people instead of growing your church.
7. Eliminate the missions committee and consider every leader a potential missionary to the West.
8. Focus on making your church so loving and warm people can’t help but grow.
9. Don’t encapsulate your people so firmly in church activities they lose touch with their pagan friends. Don’t extract them from the world.
10. And above all, find ways to participate in the reproductive movements underfoot today.

For more of Bill Easum.

The Planter: I can accept most of these conversation pieces in part but #8 is way off. When the church is loving and warm her members often stay in the holy huddle. We need more instances where Jesus turns over the tables, pew and chairs of those being disobedient to His mission the Great Commission. I love point #3.

7 Comments:

At October 17, 2008 12:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

by being warm and loving Im refering to what nin-believers experience when they stumble into a church. the church must be like an incubator of faith. thats the way the early church discipled. You spent three years studying the lives of the Christians before you were a member.

 
At October 17, 2008 12:38 PM, Blogger Bob Carder said...

This helps, I'm with you on the clarification. I'm for never letting anyone join until they are willing to become personally obedient to the Great Commission.

 
At October 17, 2008 1:49 PM, Blogger Joel Smith said...

I love number 3 as well. Unfortunately, it's the church I pastor.

Do I stay and try to make change or leave?

 
At October 17, 2008 2:54 PM, Blogger Zach said...

I'm still looking for "Consecrate yourself, listen to God and do what He says, even if it conflicts with one of the previous 10"

 
At October 20, 2008 11:59 AM, Blogger Bob Carder said...

I say leave and use your gifts to lead people to make disciples who themselves make disciples.

 
At October 21, 2008 7:18 PM, Blogger Joel Smith said...

Having been in professional ministry, leaving for the real world, and then returning to professional ministry I have to say that you're absolutely right Bob. As much as I love the people, it's quite a waste of time.

 
At October 23, 2008 9:52 AM, Blogger Bob Carder said...

Something can be a good thing without being the right thing, if you know what I mean.

 

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