Box-cutting Thoughts

“You say that we should always lead our people outward, that our vision has to be to constantly bringing new people into the congregation. Shouldn’t we balance this with our inward need to grow spiritually?” It was a good question. A woman on the staff of a large church asked me this after I had presented the Spiral Rule: Churches that face outward go upward, congregations that focus inward, shrink downward until they become a selfish singularity.

 

I answered that it is not a matter of balance. Jesus always led his disciples outward. He refused to let them become a spiritual club. In the book of Acts, particularly chapter 8, the Holy Spirit forces the church outward. The disciples tried to organize a nice little chapel in Jerusalem, and the Spirit allowed persecution and the outward vision of the Apostle Paul to send them to the farthest reaches of the globe, seeking for new people. On the other hand, Jesus was always sneaking off to the mountain to pray. Paul had three years as a hermit in Arabia. I wouldn’t call this balance. Instead, I see two vectors at play in the church, both of them are outward in direction.

 

The first vector is towards bringing new people into the fellowship. We have to ask:

  1. What kinds of people in our town are currently underserved or under-evangelized by the current religious institutions?
  2. What causes people to drive by other churches and come to ours?
  3. Who is God calling us to reach?

 

The second vector deals with the spiritual formation and the nurture of our people to become effective disciples of Jesus Christ. Its focus is missional and transformative. Serious followers of Jesus do real and measurable good in this world. 

 

These two vectors aren’t balanced in the life of a congregations. Effective church leadership requires an outward spiral that oscillates between the two foci. Further, Jesus seems to set before us the example of being responsible for our own spiritual formation. We must each guard our sabbath time. We must nurture the inward heart that fellowships with God. But, we dare not damper the church’s outward focus by fostering navel gazing. That way leads to congregational death, conflict, and/or persecution.

 

More on the Nurturing-Missional Vector next week.

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