Comments on: What if your church disappeared?

By: Garrick

Garrick — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:13:49 +0000

Hey, John, if I can make YOU think, then I consider it an effective post.

By: John Peek

John Peek — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:07:51 +0000

My first thought was: that’s just the BUILDING. The church is really the body. I agree that the “bodies” are having less and less impact. But, that made me think of the early church, meeting in homes, where there was no building. I think “our body” would have to START OVER to get another building…and that STARTING OVER would take us back to the basics…sharing the GOSPEL with our community.

You really hit a thought provoker here!!! Thanks!!!

By: bknight81

bknight81 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:55:37 +0000

Garrick, I agree completely. I think that many in the church either feel “we have time” or “Jesus is almost here so we don’t have time to …”. Both are deadly.

I think that, as we leaders look at “intensity” we need to also factor in “crew rest”, as we said in the Navy. Both individually and as an organization, we can’t sustain high intensity without let-up. We have to ensure that we factor in Rest, Re-Grouping, and Re-training into our concepts of church operations. (I know, I sound like a military planner…I was one… )

We set ourselves, and the Church, up for problems when we don’t plan and execute a complete training and warfare strategy, including R&R and adapting to changes.

I think we should look at Hockey as a model. Very intense on the ice, but the players are rotated for maximum effectiveness!

JMHO, tho’….

Great post and discussion!

By: Garrick

Garrick — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:50:18 +0000

Kristine, thanks for your comment. I hear people say all the time that rather than impacting the world, many churches today seem to be being influenced BY the world. There are many churches that are doing some great work in evangelism, discipleship, and ministry. But the reality is that there’s MUCH room for improvement. And the sense of urgency, at least from my perspective, is critical. We must be diligent in carrying and demonstrating the unchanging message of the Gospel of Christ to all people . . . and for most churches, that’s going to require some measure of re-evaluation.

By: Kristine McGuire

Kristine McGuire — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:41:55 +0000

Wow. This is an incredibly thought provoking blog and has given me serious pause. The reality is churches ARE disappearing from neighborhoods and no one notices or cares because of the lack of impact being made on communities.

By: Garrick

Garrick — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:15:29 +0000

That is definitely a good question, Karan. My neighbors probably wouldn’t miss me yet. I can’t even get some of them to come to the door!

By: Karan Stewart

Karan Stewart — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:01:24 +0000

The question this has brought to my mind is, “Would my neighborhood miss me?”

By: bknight81

bknight81 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:25:11 +0000

At a time when Churches are abandoning the Word and “blending in” instead of “standing out”, this is an AWESOME post!

Thanks!