Weeping
Do we weep for the church, or for the world?
That was a question posed to me a few days ago, during a conversation on church planting. It is hard to know just how many Christians there are in North America, but in the national census reports, not one county in the entire United States showed any numerical growth from 1990 to 2000. Whatever the megachurches membership might look like, the truth is most of it is transferred Christians.
So as we consider simple church planting movements (an opportunity to put the gospel and the church back into the hands of the people), we ask ourselves, “Do we spend time convincing the current Christians that there are other options to doing church, or do we move deeply into the harvest fields of the lost?”
As we struggled with this, we cautioned ourselves, “We don’t want to reject the Bride of Christ just because she has a few blemishes and is overweight.” Another said, “But avoiding diet and exercise is something no bride would consider right before the wedding.”
In the end, it came down to the question, “Do you weep for the church, or for the world?” Some have a calling to stay with the institutional church and slowly open their minds to new ways in which God is working and forming his community in the world. Others are more interested in searching for the lost, and calling them to initiate brand new churches.
Personally, I am most drawn to those outside the church. I make friends with them easier, I can be more honest with them, I have more faith in their future leadership as a church planter themselves! I weep for the world, and I love the church. As long as God gives me life, I plan to spend it in the harvest fields, developing leaders who can start a movement of simple churches that will spread like wild fire.
Last 5 posts by Mark
- God is Wholly - October 2nd, 2008
- The Great Moderation - September 30th, 2008