Can You Partner With Your Church?
Anyone can go to church, at least we can here in America. There’s no admission fee, no ticket required, no secret handshake (unless they haven’t let me in on it. Uh oh. I wouldn’t be so paranoid if it weren’t for all those people out to get me!).
But when you move beyond just attending, church plays a vital role. I believe that when serious Christ-followers think about their church, they’re going to see in one of two ways.
1. Your church has a ministry to you and your family. You belong and you get your spiritual needs met through the church. You give money, they teach your kids (and yourself) about faith, they help the poor, they provide opportunities for you and your family to connect, grow, and thrive.
…or
2. Your church is your partner in following and serving Christ. You have the ball! You have the “monkey”! Your church is your teammate, your strength and conditioning coach, your motivational “pre-game” environment.
In the first option, church is like the dry cleaners. You drive up, drop off your clothes, they do the work, you pay, and you leave with your clean clothes. They cleaned them. If it’s not done, or done right, you look back to them.
The second option is like the Laundromat. Just like before, you drive up. But here, you go in, you pick from the tools they’ve provided, you do the work, you interact with others who are going about the same work, and you leave with your clean clothes. See the difference?
Several years ago, a book called Revolution by George Barna made a huge statement to me. In essence, (and I’m paraphrasing here), there are/may be 180 million professing Christians in America. But there are/may be 22 million “revolutionaries”. As I recall, his definition of a “revolutionary” is a Christ-follower who would live out the Faith on his own, even if there were no church!
That is a totally different paradigm for most people. Here’s what it means to me …
Children
I am responsible for discipling my kids. The church is my partner, providing me resources and teaching consistently with my core beliefs. The church must be creative, engaging, authentic, and relevant if it’s going to help me with my kids. The responsibility is mine and only mine, but I need the best help I can get in “people” resources (teachers, mentors, small group leaders), training resources (videos, teachings, ‘take homes’) and experiences.
Evangelism
I am responsible for being “light” in my workplace, my neighborhood…everywhere I go. I want my church to provide environments and opportunities to help me move my friends one step closer to a committed relationship with Jesus Christ. The church needs to give me the tool of a safe, relevant place for them to “enter” or “re-enter” church. And I need a church that can connect me with great sermons, books, environments and on-line resources. My job isn’t “just try to get ‘em to church”; my job is to try to “get ‘em to Jesus”. I want a church that partners with me to do that.
Personal Spiritual Growth
I am responsible for growing in my faith and the knowledge of the Lord. It’s up to me to read and study my Bible on my own…to seek truth and apply it. I want a church that will partner with me, teach me, stretch me and inspire me to “faith and good works”. But if I’m not growing or “being fed”, it’s my fault. There’s plenty of “spiritual food” out there and the great Provider is eager for me to consume it.
The Poor and Disadvantaged
I am responsible for helping the poor, the widows and orphans. If my church can help me, be my partner, “vet” new ministries and pool my time and resources with others, that’s great.
But if they are responsible for these people, then I’m not. If they have the burden for the poor and I don’t, we’re not partners. That means they have a ministry and I don’t. I’ve outsourced part of my responsibility as a Christ-follower. The church has become a vendor, not a partner.
Question: Does your church “partner” with you in your ministry? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
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