continuing ecclesiology

I'm so blessed that a bunch of you have resonated with this first point. Thanks for your comments. One of the books that inspired me is, "Growing Strong Churches: 19 Keys to a Healthy, Growing Church" by Bill Scheidler. It's a great, great resource I highly recommend.
So on to my second point of personal ecclesiology.
2. The church's role is to lead people to holiness.
When I lived in Maple Ridge, BC, I joined a martial arts club called Sun Hang Do taught by Master Dave Kinney (an amazing guy, by the way!) In his do-jang (gym) is a banner that reads: My goal is to become a black belt. It's evident to every person who walks into the do-jang just where they're headed and what's expected of them. When Master Kinney looks at even the newest member he knows what he wants them to accomplish.
I began to wonder about church. What goal do we have for the people who are a part of our churches? If we could hang a real or implied banner across the wall what would it say? For the longest time my banner read: my goal is to have more and more people show up so I feel like a success. At other times I had a banner that read: my goal is to have people come and watch the cool things we're doing. My banner has changed, however. Now it reads: my goal is to lead people to holiness. It's not enough for people to come and watch, it's not enough for people to volunteer their time, it's not enough for people to memorize and recite good, Free Methodist doctrine. For all of us our goal must be personal holiness. As leaders in the church we must do what we can to see holiness in our people.

Well, since it's Friday and it's almost Christmas I'll put another point down--who knows when I'll be blogging again?
3. Every member a minister and mentor through incarnational influence.
A few years ago a person came up to me and said that he had a great idea for the Sunday service: "Why not have a time of prayer after the service for people needing some extra ministry? In fact, I have a heart for that, I'm trained to do it and I've done that before." "Great," I said, "why don't you head that up?" "Nope," he said, "that has to come from the Pastor." I had another person say something similar to me about evangelism: it has to come from the Pastor's office.
I wondered about what these two individuals were saying. Don't get me wrong, these two individuals are godly saints who truly want God's best for the church. I love these two and would gladly spend time with them. Still I wonder about what they said. In all honesty I think they're partly right. As a Pastor I feel responsible to see prayer and evangelism happen in the local church. While not completely my responsibility I do need to lead by example. Yet, I would also say that church functions best when every member is a minister. To me, this means that every member willingly takes on giving, supporting, encouraging, challenging and empowering others for the cause of Christ. One person defined it best: the priesthood of all believers.
I also believe church functions best when every member is a mentor. The apostle Paul reminds us that the older women of the congregation “can train the younger women.” Paul himself trained and encouraged young leaders. When I became a Christian an older fellow met with me to teach me the scriptures and the heart of God. Yes, churches should have Sunday schools, catechism or other venues for training, but so much better, I believe, when every member is a mentor to those younger or newer to the faith. What if the older men in the church spent time with the younger men? What if the older ladies spent time with younger ladies? What if longer-tenure Christians spent time with new-born Christians? What if older married couples spent time with newlyweds?
How so is every member a minister and mentor? Through incarnational influence. We willingly enter into their lives. We're available and vulnerable. We sacrifice our time, energy, resources and finances. We offer counsel, confrontation, grace and forgiveness. Basically everything Jesus has been to us we offer back to others.
I would love to be a part of a church that has ministry and mentorship running rampant throughout the church. Not because it's part of some program but because people truly see themselves as a holy nation and royal priesthood. Comments, questions, concerns, suggestions, addtions, addendums, revisions, clarifications? Add a comment.