This was not my planned post for today, but after doing a little reading (and adding another book to my "will read" list), I figured I might as well post it. You can also blame IE 7 for not allowing me to post this on Craig Groeschel's blog. Since I took the time to type it, it must be good right? :) His basic question was, "What is coming next in the church?" I have actually written a few pages on this topic, but here is the brief version.
Our biggest struggle seems to be staying the same, rather than changing. Perhaps it is just the generation I grew up in (I am 32), but I have seen the church chase so many different cultural trends that it has forgotten its core message... Jesus gives us the life we need and want, and nothing else in this world will.
Talking strategy is all well and good, but I don't think today's church has spent enough time solidifying its vision yet. Vision always precedes strategy. And, vision is almost worthless without accountability. Strangely I almost long for a day when churches are less autonomous and more accountable to one another. I have no idea how that will look since we will be holding people accountable to vision and not strategy. By its very definition this means that church leaders will have to encourage people toward success who choose a completely different strategy than they endorse.
What happens next is that churches begin putting Vision before Strategy. I don't believe the church's biggest issue is "keeping up with cultural shifts". I grew up in the generation that tried to out-MTV the world. The only problem was that we did not realize what MTV was offering. We thought it was fancy videos and catchy multi-media. In truth it was offering kids in a disconnected world a way to have shared experiences in a new social setting. MTV worked because it provided community, not just music videos.
Obviously the church of tomorrow will use different strategies than we do today, but I hope they are founded upon a solid, Biblical vision and not just societal evolution.
6 comments:
Interesting post, Jeff. Any chance of reading your more detailed thoughts on this topic?
Shalom
Gordon
Gordon,
I attempted to email you through your website. I am not sure if that address is still active. But, to answer your questions I do have some more thoughts on this topic, they are just generally too long for blog posts :).
Jeff
At times I am conflicted. In my early days of church attendance I was told that church was not a social club. I think the intent behind that statement was to say that one should not come to church and treat it like something to raise one's social status. However, is it wrong to go to church to be a part of the community?
I think the goal is to redefine "community". It is not enough for it to be a purely social setting. If I am in community with you, then we should share more than 30 minutes a week and brief conversations on the way in and out of church. The two biggest factors stopping real community in America are 1) Affluence and 2) Personal Freedom. We really dont need each other, and so it is just easier many times to avoid making strong connections.
Very true Jeff. I do believe that a community should be defined by a deeper connection. As logical thinkers is there a way to quantify a connection worthy of the word community? Keep in mind some people thrive on social and communal connections.
I have never found it easy to build measurements for something like "true community". But, there are measures for things that often lead to community... like
a) Personal Bible Studay
b) Family Bible Study
c) Regular small group study/accountability
d) Regular service/ministry to other believers
e) Regular service/ministry to those outside the church
Those are the types of things I look at when I try to establish a measure for "health". Extroverts may have a different mental picture of "community" than Introverts, but we all share some common needs, and True community will meet those needs in both people.
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