Many long-time Christians have cut going to church out of their lives. It’s not because they have lost their faith in Christ, but because church doesn’t seem to resonate with them anymore. They have questions about how often they need to sit in a weekly service that has little or no place for them to utilize and express the gifts God’s given them. They want to be released to do more ministry. They want make a difference in their world.
Pastors often view people like this as rebellious, un-teachable, and/or lacking a servant’s heart. They will say things like, “All healthy ministry originates in and flows from the covering of the local church,” and then remind us that there are places to serve with the children. In their minds the primary justification for people to attend services and listen to sermons is so they will get the necessary training and tooling to do ministry themselves. This of course is true, but when does ministry actually start to flow out?
Jesus’ model and method for ministry was to engage and train regular people who eventually went about doing things that “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). The training the disciples received wasn’t systematic or highly structured. It involved spontaneous situations encountered in daily life. Jesus taught them in every imaginable setting. There was fluidly and uncertainty. Then away from the crowds and the routines, he would give them extra insight, then send them back into their daily rhythms to make use of what he had taught them. Most churches today function in a way that misses these critical components of modeling and mobilizing.
I’ve been sensing a significant change in the near future for the church. As pleased as I am with the way in which we’ve “done church” over the years, I know with certainty that our methods must change. Too many things have changed in our world. And rather than shrink back, I believe the Holy Spirit is whispering something wonderfully fresh that will bring about a change in the way we think about and do church.
What God is doing right now is very, very big. Even for someone like me who has walked with Jesus for decades, it is still hard to discern what He is doing—and what He wants us to do. But one thing I know for certain, our response in this changing season will determine how much we will be equipped and released to make a difference in our world.
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