One of the new year conversations I had was with two old friends, chatting about an operation one was going to have; the other just happened to be a doctor in general practice. The doctor confirmed that the technology now used in such procedures guarantees what the specialist surgeon promised our friend – a 97% success rate. We marvelled together at the advances of technology, and started sharing memories of the past compared to the technology the present generations are being raised with.
That conversation eventually turned to the topic of church: “Steve, what do you think about all this change and the future of the church?” An interesting conversation ensued. They’ve been in churches for decades and they are very concerned not just about their own local church, but about the future of churches generally, especially given the tendency they see in churches of a reluctance, more accurately a resistance, to change.
In this series of short articles, I want to begin by considering three simple strategic things church leaders can, and must, do, to help transition your church. For leaders, these three steps are relatively easy to implement because they involve the preaching and teaching ministries, through which you can provide a biblical platform for cultural change.
There are three topics that if addressed in preaching, and modeled by leaders, will lay the foundation for culture shift. Briefly, here are three preaching series, which could last a few months or all year.
1. Preach on the
Jesus preached and taught the kingdom, nothing but the kingdom. He focused on communicating
2. Preach on being disciples of Christ (not just members of a church).
Leaders need to teach and model being a disciple of Jesus, living kingdom purpose and values. Our people need a bigger perspective of Christ in all of life to overcome the sacred-secular divide. They need to understand that a disciple of Jesus is someone who is intentionally seeking to become more like him on their journey of faith.
3. Preach and model making disciples (not converts).
We are serious about evangelism and seeing others come to Christ. We have programs to reach out to people. But I suggest that to focus on evangelism can lead only to making converts not disciples. The imperative in the great commission is to make disciples. A disciple is someone who wants to become like their master, not just believe and belong. The essence of discipleship is the journey to Christ-likeness; it is transformation.
I’ll share my thinking in this series. We welcome your input and interaction.
