Why We Go To Church

 

By Fred Zaspel:

Within this context we are exhorted, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing” (Heb 10:25). In view here, obviously, are the stated formal gatherings of the church. And the point is that attendance at these meetings is not only our duty—it is our lifeline, the means by which we are strengthened to continue with the Lord. The public gathering of the people of God is one of God’s appointed means of keeping us on the way to glory. We call it a “means of grace.” Simply put, we meet together because we need it…

….We “go to church” because it is good for us, because we need it, and because God commands it. Our attendance at our gathered meetings has much to offer us. Whether we know it or not, we cannot do without them. And our attitude toward them speaks volumes about us.

Read the rest here!

Your Prayer Life and Your Church

Justin Taylor has posted some great ways to pray for your church:

You can pray that God would move in way that results in:

• hundreds of people coming to Christ,
• old animosities being removed,
• marriages being reconciled and renewed,
• wayward children coming home,
• long-standing slavery to sin being conquered,
• spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy,
• weak faith being replaced by bold witness,
• disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession,
• boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for the Word,
• disinterest in global missions being replaced by energy for Christ’s name among the nations, and
• lukewarm worship being replaced by zeal for the greatness of God’s glory.

I especially like this thought: If Jesus answered all your prayers from the last 30 days, would anything change in THE world or just YOUR world?

21 Great Church Questions

Some great questions here for your church from Timmy Brister:

1.  If our church would cease to exist in our city, would it be noticed and missed?
2.  If all the pastors were tragically killed in a car accident, would the church’s ministry cease or fall apart?
3.  If the only possible means of connecting with unbelievers were through the missionary living of our church members, how much would we grow? (I ask this because the early church did not have signs, websites, ads, marketing, etc.)
4.  What are the subcultures within the church?  Do they attract or detract from the centrality of the gospel and mission of the church?
5.  Is our church known more for what we are not/against than what we are/for?
6.  What are we allowing to be our measuring stick of church health? (attendance vs. discipleship; seating capacity vs. sending capacity; gospel growth, training on mission, etc.)
7.  Are the priorities of our church in line with the priorities of Christ’s kingdom?
8.  If our members had 60 seconds to explain to an unbeliever what our church is like, what would you want them to say?  How many do you think are saying that?
9.  If the invisible kingdom of God became visible in our city, what would that look like?
10.  In what ways have we acted or planned in unbelief instead of faith?

Read the rest.

How to Wreck Your Church in Three Weeks

I just read this over on Ray Ortlund’s blog and was struck at its truth. Read and let me know what you think:

How to wreck your church in three weeks

Week One:  Walk into church today and think about how long you’ve been a member, how much you’ve sacrificed, how under-appreciated you are.  Take note of every way you’re dissatisfied with your church now.  Take note of every person who displeases you.

Meet for coffee this week with another member and “share your heart.”  Discuss how your church is changing, how you are being left out.  Ask your friend who else in the church has “concerns.”  Agree together that you must “pray about it.”

Week Two:  Send an email to a few other “concerned” members.  Inform them that a groundswell of grievance is surfacing in your church.  Problems have gone unaddressed for too long.  Ask them to keep the matter to themselves “for the sake of the body.”

As complaints come in, form them into a petition to demand an accounting from the leaders of the church.  Circulate the petition quietly.  Gathering support will be easy.  Even happy members can be used if you appeal to their sense of fairness – that your side deserves a hearing.  Be sure to proceed in a way that conforms to your church constitution, so that your petition is procedurally correct.

Week Three:  When the growing moral fervor, ill-defined but powerful, reaches critical mass, confront the elders with your demands.  Inform them of all the woundedness in the church, which leaves you with no choice but to put your petition forward.  Inform them that, for the sake of reconciliation, the concerns of the body must be satisfied.

Whatever happens from this point on, you have won.  You have changed the subject in your church from gospel advance to your own grievances.  To some degree, you will get your way.  Your church will need three or four years for recovery.  But at any future time, you can do it all again.  It only takes three weeks.

Just one question.  Even if you are being wronged, “Why not rather suffer wrong?” (1 Corinthians 6:7).