The Sending Church

I think this might be a new measure of health to consider.

A great interview here by Trevin Wax.  This portion was enlightening.

Trevin: You talk a lot about the scorecard we keep as pastors. You admit how in the past you were more focused on growing the church than sending the church. What changed your scorecard? 

Pat: There was definitely a time when I was more concerned about growing a church than in sending the church. That’s agonizing to admit, even today, because it seems so shallow and man-centered. But, even though my goal might’ve been wrong, my motives were pure. Numbers represent souls, and I wanted to take as many people with me to heaven as possible.

I think all pastors have to fight the drift toward focusing on numbers because the American Dream flows out of the American world view that bigger is better. We even publish an annual list of the fastest growing and the largest churches in America. Our influence seems to depend on how large our church is. So, it’s easy for our motives to drift.

Now, I’m not trying to over spiritualize and say numbers aren’t important. We count everything at LifePoint because numbers are a great diagnostic. To be honest, I’d bet that the only churches that aren’t interested in numbers are those that don’t have any. But, numbers shouldn’t be the goal; obedience to God’s mission should be the goal. God measures obedience and faithfulness rather than bigness. Rather than measuring the size of our buildings or the size of our attendance, God measures the size of our passion to run hard after His heart and His purpose for the church.

Read the rest.

Get the book here.

Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge

Guest post by John Poitevent

The Golden Gate Bridge has always been famous. It was the world’s longest suspension bridge when it was completed in 1937. Since then, it has become an iconic landmark of San Francisco and, tragically, one of the most popular places in the world to commit suicide. Few know this better than Kevin Briggs, a sergeant with the California Highway Patrol who has talked hundreds of people out of jumping. 

 

I recently saw this video, Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge, and was profoundly impacted. Please take five minutes and watch it now.

As I listened to Sergeant Briggs share his story, I couldn't help but think about what it means to be faithful to the mission of the gospel. His dedication, determination and devotion to his calling convicted and inspired me. "How often am I living completely dedicated to the mission, the Great Commission, that I have been given?" "Am I on the lookout for people around me who need to be rescued?" "Am I unwaveringly committed, sacrificial and patient with them, unwilling to just let them go?"  

Some of the Sergeant's words particularly stood out to me:
"When I talk to someone, I try to dig into them and see whats going on."
"I try to get them to raise their head up."
"I actually went down on my knees and said, "Look, I got nothin'.""
"I tend to talk about my life, because I've been through a lot."
"Hey, I've been through some of this also."
"I like to lead them with dignity."
"That's what we do, that's why we're here."

"What was it, after all those hours, that you finally decided to come back?" 

"Kevin wouldn't give up."

"Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." Jude 1:22-23

"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." 1 Corinthians 9:22

^"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." 1 John 3:16

Interesting Info-graphic on the World's Population

The Limping, Elevenish Recipients of the Great Commission

In concluding his Gospel with the Great Commission, Matthew describes the group that first received the charge ---notice the underlined words.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. Matthew 28:16-17

The number "eleven" grabs our attention. Eleven is incomplete. There weren't eleven tribes of Israel, there were twelve. And there weren't twelve Disciples, there were eleven. But Judas had betrayed the Lord and an explicit mention of eleven was an implicit reminder of the pain of someone leaving.

Frederick Dale Bruner commented, "The number eleven limps; it is not perfect like twelve. . . The church that Jesus sends into the world is fallible, 'elevenish,' imperfect."

Not only is the church "elevenish," some of the sheep are uncertain. Matthew includes the phrase, "but some doubted." It's hard to fathom: those physically present with the resurrected Christ still had questions. And, while it may be hard to fathom, it's not hard to believe, because we still have questions.

And so here we are today, 2000 years later, limping along, eleven of us, some have left the faith, and we are sometimes doubting, yet our gracious King has entrusted to us the Great Commission. It was never about the quality of the disciples, it was always about the greatness of the King who graciously includes us in His Kingdom work.

Chris Brauns is the Pastor of The Red Brick Church and the author of Unpacking Forgiveness and When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search. You can follow him on Twitter at ChrisBrauns.