Reflections from EN 2010 world conference
I spent last week in Manila at the Every Nation 2010 world conference that hosted 18,000+ delegates from 50 countries. (Every Nation is the family of churches and ministries that GBCK belongs to.)
Here are some reflections in no particular order:
• The Gospel is growing and bearing fruit around the world, especially in closed countries where Christianity is illegal.
• Our #1 mission is to make disciples whether you are in the U.S., Asia, Europe, Africa, or wherever; this is our mandate.
• God uses the ordinary person to do the extra-ordinary work of the Gospel. All it takes is humility and reliance on God.
• We must learn how to put down and let go of offenses if we are to pick up and carry the cross of Jesus and fulfill His mission.
• Every Nation, Every Campus: Reaching the next generation is imperative.
• The Philippines is hot!
• The Gospel shows us what's broken, and shows us the solution to our brokenness. We must never stop preaching the Gospel.
• Each one reach one: who am I reaching and believing to come to faith in Jesus?
• The local church is God's chosen tool for reaching the world with the Gospel; it's through disciples not organizations that people are reached for Jesus.
• Put away my excuses, my pettiness, and my hang ups, and get about the Kingdom business of making disciples by leading them to develop their faith, deepen their connections, and to devote their lives to God's mission.
The “ageless” gospel
With so much pressure to be new and innovative in ministry, let's not forget that the message of the gospel is not new or an innovation. In fact it's ageless. Romans 1:1, 2 says the gospel was promised beforehand. OK, can we get some clarity on "beforehand"? Sure. Titus 1:2 says the gospel was promised before the ages, and 2 Timothy 1:9 says the gospel existed before the ages began. What Paul is saying in Romans is that the gospel is ageless.
So what does this mean?
• It means salvation originates and begins with God. That is, the gospel is not man-made.
• It means the gospel is eternal. Created, finite beings cannot devise a plan for eternal salvation. (Although mankind has always tried to make his own plan for salvation apart from Jesus.)
• It means the gospel it beyond space and time; it transcends it. In other words, the gospel is relevant to any culture in any age. We don't have to make the gospel relevant.
I think the last point is important. The gospel doesn't need to be made cool, hip, or relevant. It doesn't need to be dressed up and packaged. The gospel cannot be bent to fit the culture, nor should it "emerge" into something "better".
The gospel is the same yesterday, today, and forever - it's ageless. Let's preach the gospel for it's God's power for salvation. Let's trust the gospel and not innovation to save.
Preaching notes
I always like to learn how other pastors and churches do things, and preaching is one of those things. When I listen to other preachers, I listen for content (the message) but I also listen for transitions, applications, placement of illustrations, introductions, conclusions, etc. If video is available, I like to see what kind of microphone they use, pulpit, no pulpit, stand, sit, walk, smile...all of it.
This is why this blog post by Joshua Harris is so fascinating to me; he asked different preachers to send him their preaching notes and he posted them online. BTW, these are notes from preachers who preach to hundreds and thousands every week, which means they probably preach often and are good preachers. It's a great peek behind the veil, and another opportunity to learn.
You can check it out here. (FYI, the code on Joshua's page is a little funky. Just ignore it. The links work.)
Five Major Trends for Amercian Churches…
There's an interesting article at the ChristianPost.com about research that identifies five emerging trends in U.S. churches.
Here are the five:
1. Our nation will see the emergence of the largest generational mission field in over a century.
2. The dominant attitude of this huge generation toward Christianity will be largely indifferent.
3. Senior adult ministries in churches will experience steep declines.
4. The large Boomer generation will become more receptive to the gospel.
5. Family will be a key value for both of the large generations.
The question is how do churches adjust to these trends? Should churches adjust? How should churches respond?
Here are some of my thoughts:
• Whatever the trends are, make sure the gospel is preached. Self-improvement messages are catchy and attractive, but the gospel is God's power for salvation.
• People reach people, methods and programs do not. Continually communicate the truth of every believers responsibility and privilege to reach out to others.
• Prayer. No matter the flow of the cultural current, prayer is the driving force that transcends culture. More prayer, more power.
• Focus on making disciples. It's our job description. It's easy to be distracted by more "flashy" programs and events because disciple-making is repetitive and lacks pizazz. But always remember: changed people change culture.
You can read the full article here.
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