1. The local church is God's design to reach a city. It is the hope of each community. The local church is God's highest priority.
2. Local churches exist to reach the next person. Effective leaders are clear that the primary customer is the person who will not go to heaven unless something changes before the end of his/her life. Those who pay the bills, who are already convinced, and who already attend are the secondary customer.
3. Churches are self-determining when it comes to the things that cause health and growth (e.g., staffing, money, and facilities). Since the local church is God's design to reach a community, its leaders must prayerfully decide how to best invest tithe and offerings.
4. Any conference or network exists only to resource and assist the local church in reaching its maximum redemptive potential. Ask not what the church can do for the network; ask what the network can do for the church.
5. Those who are persuaded of the Mission Catalyst theological perspective are not spiritually superior to those who attend any other Christian church. God uses Christians with various points of view to help people cross the line of faith.
6. Leaders don't wait for permission from anyone to obey God's promptings. Once they hear his voice, understand His heart, and consult with people they respect, they act.
6.5 Every city should have a healthy, happy, growing Mission Catalyst church.
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7 comments:
Yes! Nail them up everywhere!! You are right on! Send me a copy and I'll nail them up where I am too.
There is a rather obvious context in which every single one of your 6.5 thesis are wrong. They only reflect what you think the local church should be.
The 6.5 Theses
1. I wish the local church was God's design to reach a city. I wish it were the hope of each community. I wish the local church was God's highest priority.
2. I wish the Local churches existed to reach the next person. I wish Effective leaders were clear that the primary customer is the person who will not go to heaven unless something changes before the end of his/her life. I wish those who pay the bills, who are already convinced, and who already attend were the secondary customers.
3. I wish Churches were self-determining when it comes to the things that cause health and growth (e.g., staffing, money, and facilities). I wish that my vision for the local church was God's design to reach a community, and that its leaders would prayerfully decide how to best invest ? (did you mean return?) the tithe and offerings.
4. I wish any conference or network existed only to resource and assist the local church in reaching its maximum redemptive potential. I wish they would Ask not what the church can do for the network; but ask what the network can do for the church.
5. I wish Those who are persuaded of the Mission Catalyst theological perspective were spiritually superior to those who attend any other Christian church. I wish God would use Christians without various points of view to help people cross the lines of faith.
6. I wish Leaders would not wait for permission from anyone to obey God's promptings. I wish Once they hear his voice, understand His heart, and consult with people they respect, they would act.
6.5 I wish Every city should have a healthy, happy, growing Mission Catalyst church.
Sounds correct to me.
Well thought out and inspired by the
One who took the nails himself.
CG
This quote struck me:
"5. Those who are persuaded of the Mission Catalyst theological perspective are not spiritually superior to those who attend any other Christian church. "
I don't really know what Mission Catalyst's theological perspective is.
But then I don't know that a theological perspective would make anyone spiritually superior to some other Christian either. I would however choose if I could a church with the superior theological perspective. Because there is a lot of stuff in the christian community that makes God out to be rather cruel and overall not to Godlike (at least if your view of God is one consistent with love).
Since I don't know your theological perspective for certain, what I do see seems to be fairly traditional Seventh-day Adventist belief, without the remnant exclusivity.
I would like to know however for certain what you mean by "Mission Catalyst theological perspective".
Check out the doctrinal summary on www.missioncatalyst.org. Many Christians, unfortunately, view themselves as spiritual superior to other souls who don't share their view of God. This statement is in obvious contradiction to that.
I'm missing the "6.5" significance. Are you just somewhat reluctant to use the number 7? (Smile.)
"And on day 6.5 God finished his work which he had done, and rested on day 6.5 . . ."
Or is only half a point? (Is this only half-witty?)
'Splain, Lucy!
Nothing against the number 7, Chris. 6.5 seemed more memorable than 7. And why be normal? :) Ron G
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