24 Oct 06 What Makes A Community of Faith Distinctive?
And Christ gave gifts to people - he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection. (Ephesians 4:11-13 from the New Century Version)
How are we to decide between effective and non-effective ministries? When church health is the issue, when growing stronger as a body is at risk how do we choose relevant ministries?
One person says you can’t judge by numbers. Another person says since God wants all people to be saved we must be concerned with numbers.
One person says being faithful is more important. Faithfulness is important, another person says, but correctly focused faithfulness is of greater importance.
To those who are weak, I became weak so I could win the weak. I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible. (1 Corinthians 9:22 from the New Century Version)
How can we become all things to all people when we can’t become all things to all people?
I’m stuck trying to figure how to become relevant as a community of faith. Just trying to figure out what it looks like here. I know there will be some universal similarities. I’m trying to discern the specific elements, those things that make this community of faith distinctive.
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Janice, Steve, Laura, and I (and others) will be in Stockton in a couple of weeks. We’ll get all this straightened out for you at that time, complete with THE definitive answers. Until then, be patient!
You are hitting way too close to home on this one, what is an effective ministry and what isn’t.
From a totally biased point of view, I would say that numerical effectiveness is not the only criteria.
Love, submission, thankfulness, service, sharing, obedience… I would give them all high marks.
I give high marks to Brady’s list as well. I think that God looks with favor on those who serve him with everything they’ve got…regardless of obvious results. He sees what we don’t.
I wish I could be up there when Greg, et.al. are coming. Alas, that’s a working weekend for me.