On the Other Side of the Wall

As we watch the disintegration of our culture, the church can respond in two ways. We can protest- explain publicly why this or that social issue is essential in the public square. We argue for the Creation Ordinances to be honored (Sanctity of Life, Sanctity of Marriage, Sanctity of Law, Sanctity of Work, and the Sanctity of Rest) in an attempt to push salt and light into the community we serve. We are good at this.

There is another way. Secularism has held sway long enough to have a track record. It taught the world was a blank slate and rebellious man could write on it whatever he willed. But the Creation Ordinances were still true, even if no one believed in them. Human beings, families, and communities have violated the way things were made by a holy and wise Creator. People lie broken and bleeding from the consequences of secularism.

The broken who live on the other side of the wall do not know why these things have happened to them. If the church is willing, she can walk around the wall and minister to those on the other side. Here is a ministry of rescue, healing and hope. Compassion knows their names and helps them to their feet again. Compassion like Jesus showed helps us earn the right to speak with authority in the public square. Let's walk around the wall.

May the Tribe of Micaiah Increase!

The experts gathered together to predict victory. The authors and the gurus, the church growth experts and ones versed in spiritual formation sent word to the prophet. "This is the way the spiritual wind is blowing. Join with us and we will celebrate the vast numerical victory that will be ours."
The church growth expert said, "The battle is sure. Look at the hordes who will flock to us. Victory is sure."
The Spiritual Formation expert said, "Self-esteem will lead the way. We can be confident when we are centered in our own understanding."
The Guru said, "We are predicting success. Let your word agree with ours."
But Micaiah said, "As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me... I saw all Israel scattered, like sheep without a shepherd..."

The Deception of Relevance

The church has made a grave mistake in ministry design. The cries for relevance over the last decade or two have led us to the edge of an abyss. If we peer over the edge, our knees may get weak.
*One church hired a pornography star to come and share about sex because of her wide experience.
*Another church made it popular to ask so many questions of scripture that they began to question scripture without settling on any of its answers
*Another church made selfishness its central concern so that Baby Boomers could feel relevant
*A final example was a church that made self-esteem its core value and redefined sin to be a lack of sufficient self-esteem.
All this was done at the altar of relevance. Here's my problems with the idea of relevance:
1. We make sinners and the weakest saints among us the arbiters of relevance. Whatever their felt need is at the time is where we park our ministry efforts and resources.
2. Relevance reflects a desire for a desire for a neat prescription for a felt need that takes away pain without touching the disease.
3. The heart, which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, likes its answers in neat little tablets. The heart directs the Word and Spirit of God into only those areas of pain and forbids wider scope to the agents of real transformation.
4. Nothing is more relevant, ultimately and finally, than the Gospel. On Christ and His ministry among us hang all our hope and joy. To think something else is more relevant than forgiveness of sins and right standing with God is a damnable blindness.
The real question is not relevance but sufficiency. Are the things we teach and do in ministry sufficient for bringing a sinner to the cross and a saint safely home? Next time we meet with our ministry design team, let's ask the right question.

Postmodern Ministry Design

Reading "Already Gone" has given me some interesting ideas about the future of ministry to post-moderns (ages 20-30). See what you think of this three-pronged approach:

1. "Search and Rescue Operation." The church is going to have to go after their sons, daughters, neighbors and friends if they ever want to see them again in church. As well, one good "rededication invitation" will not suffice. Decisions for Christ will be daily movements toward Christ, three steps forward, two steps back. The deciding factor will be a friend, a Christian who genuinely cares about restoration. The friend will walk him through a process of "untangling" his life in daily, humble discipleship. Together they will untangle the consequences of sin and the judgmentalism of the church. The goal will be committed restoration and full involvement in the local body.
2. "Full-bodied" Discipleship. In order to influence the postmodern world, the church is going to have to step up. No more obvious hypocrisy. No more passive attendance. The church will have to embrace discipleship, not only as it relates to Christ, but as it relates to following Him in the areas of human relationships, vocation, economics, education, church membership and commitment, and future leadership development.
3. "All Hands on Deck" Involvement. This type of discipleship is total. It is labor intensive and time consuming. It demands monster amounts of authentic prayer. Every disciple will have to work toward congruence between what they believe and what they do. And, it will take more than sitting in a pew for two hours on Sunday morning. Personal involvement and lasting commitment are the only things that will be respected.

It's time to get at it.