Thursday, October 30, 2008

Hammers that Shaped Me (Part 4)

There are a couple of other statements that have impacted me, but none of them nor even the ones I've shared in previous blogs messed me up as much as this one. It's a wake-up call to every church leader and every Christian. It's a challenge to for us all to consider whether we've gotten our ministry priorities out of order.


“It’s not that the Church has a mission; it’s that the Mission has a Church.” —Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways
Long before there was a church, even before there was an Israel, there was a missionary God. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, the missionary God came to find them. His purpose in choosing a nation to serve him, His purpose in sending his prophets and giving his Word, His purpose in sending His Son, and his purpose in sending the church as ambassadors of His Son were all missionary in nature. The church is the means to His end. The end is the Mission--reconciling people who are far from God to Him.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Hammers that Shaped Me (Part 3)

Every living thing reproduces. At least that's true if it's healthy. It's true of microorganisms, plants, fungi, animals, and humans. But we Christians aren't reproducing at a rate (at least in the US) that is even keeping pace with population growth. For those of you who are sleeping, I don't mean we're not having babies! What I'm talking about is that we are not producing new disciples.
Could it be that we are too hung up on information and not application in our own lives? Could it be that we are way too busy spreading what we claim to know, rather than bearing fruit of what we actually are? Listen to a hammer from Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, the founding pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship of Oahu, leader of a global church planting ministry, and author of a number of books including The Divine Mentor :

“You can teach what you know, but you can only reproduce what you are.”
- Wayne Cordeiro