Part-2 of a mini-series on how we will plant 1,000 new congregations...
While the LCMC vision is to plant 1,000 new congregations in the next 10-years, many of our 700-plus existing American churches are saying something like, "That's great and everything, but what about strengthening our current congregations before we start new ones!"
To that, I say, "I agree." After all, if a husband and wife aren't doing well in their marriage, they need to first strengthen their relationship before having a baby together. Otherwise, the baby is born without the love and provision of healthy parents. Likewise, a church that is struggling in its relationship with Jesus and each other, needs to first strengthen its faith values before it can birth a new church. Otherwise, the new church struggles and even dies with its parent church.
So, after last week's part-1 of this blog series, what are we to do as an association in order to strengthen our existing congregations, while also moving forwarding in our vision to multiply the influence of Christ? The answer is quite simple: Obedience. Easy answer, hard to do.
When we obey God's Great Commandment to love him, something in us changes. We become like...Him! We become like Jesus because to love God is to trust and follow the Savior so closely, he literally rubs off on us. When that happens, loving others is way easier to do. After all, its no longer me, but Jesus that is doing the loving through me!
When we obey God's Great Commandment, it then triggers us into His Great Commission to "Go and make disciples of the nations." In other words, when I'm following Jesus, I'm taking his qualities into my areas of influence. When that happens, others want what I have! Of course, when I'm not following Jesus, I am simply doing rituals or religion. They look nice, but have no lasting impact.
Friends: in order for the LCMC to really dig into the everyday marketplace of life to inspire an impact for Christ, we must simply practice something that comes hard to our flesh, but easy to our faith: obey the Great Commandment for the sake of the Great Commission.
So I have a winning idea--- a revelation from the Spirit. Instead of getting hung-up on the thought that a new church start is something only an ordained person does--- with a big budget, big building and a big band, what if we first focused on loving God and loving people and discipling them through our daily examples of obedience to our Savior? What if non-Christians began seeing you and I as something so counter-cultural they wanted to give it a try? What if they saw you and I with lives so full of peace and purpose, they dropped their notions that Christians are hypocrites and judgmental?
The best way for our association to birth healthy baby churches is to first be healthy parents. That means no more fighting WITH people about inside-the-church-building matters, instead; fight FOR people on matters outside-the-church-building. Indeed, practicing the Great Commandment and Great Commission will make us matter greatly in Christ--- inside and outside!
Next week: I will continue this mini-blog-series on our game-plan for planting a 1,000 in 10. What if our existing churches, no matter the size, were to honor the Great Commandment and Commission by training and equipping our congregational leaders to launch missional communities into our respective cities? I like calling them "Transformational Communities." This is not another evangelism program, or just another small group teaching series. TC's are new ministries coming to life from current, healthy, congregations--- able to do things for Christ the parent church can't do. Please stay tuned for what that might look like for you!
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