Instead of being directed by [visible] success, we should be directed by faithfulness. We should say, 'If the Lord doesn't like our product, we will change the product.' We shouldn't take the idea that if we don't have X number of conversions in our church, then we must be doing something wrong. I am glad Jeremiah didn't think that. And I am glad that Jesus Christ didn't think that. Let us remember that we are following the One who was crucified as a revolutionary.-Mark Dever from this article. Church leaders, I would recommend that you read it.
We need to keep in mind that what some people regard as faithfulness is actually sin (like the people who hold up the "God hates fags" signs). Answering the question, "Faithfulness TO WHAT" is the key question to answer. If answered Biblically then we can say AMEN to Mark's quote here. Sometimes we are losing numbers in our church because we ARE doing something wrong and it needs to be addressed and changed. Just because you might be losing numbers doesn't mean that you are being faithful to God's desire for your church. I see Mark pushing back on an emphasis in many churches these days and I agree with him on that, but we just need to be careful we are not swinging the other way.
(HT: Church Matters)
1 comment:
Dever attacks the idea of being 'relevant' unjustly. The vast majority of people trying to be 'relevant' are not talking about doctrine but about method. As Paul completely changes his methods in Acts 17 and throughout his ministry based on who he is talking to. To argue that it is impossible to be biblical and try to present the message of Christ in a way an audience can understand is ignorant.
I also feel it is unlikely that "to be faithful" to the Bible will lead to being satisfied without making disciples. We obviously cannot make anyone believe but it seems unlikely that God wants us to be faithful to our methods despite their ineffectiveness.
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