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Is Church Growth Biblical?

4/26/2013

1 Comment

 
Should we seek to grow Churchtown Church of God or in doing so, are we imposing our will over God's? Do we purposefully seek growth or do we "preach the Word and let God do the rest?"

In short, yes, church growth is biblical, as is the concept of church development. However, I believe they represent two different ideas. Church growth is a more objective concept, measurable quite literally in numbers and square footage and there is evidence that God indeed is intentional in growing a church in these dimensions. Church development is a more subjective measure for it deals with concepts such as community, servant-leadership and discipleship. Again, however, the evidence – both practical and spiritua - l is clear that God intends churches to develop such community for the purpose of knowing Him, growing in faith and spreading the gospel. 

For a look into God’s plan for the church universal – with regard to both growth and development - we oft refer to Acts Chapter two and explore the apostle’s interaction with the Holy Spirit and congregation. Acts 2:1-13 recounts the creation of the church with the coming of the Holy Spirit. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, there is no work of the church on earth. This is VERY clear. Human beings are incapable of creating and nurturing healthy, holistic and spiritual relationships. Only the power of the Holy Spirit allows us to live the model for relationship that we are given in The Christ. 

The Christ provides the model for all relationship issues in His dealings with God the Father, His disciples, His church, and His flock. We are well served to incorporate the lessons of scripture into the structures of our own lives; but the energy to live as Christ commands, loving God with all of our hearts, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbors as ourselves, stems only from the Holy Spirit of God, our wonderful counselor. Because, as the apostle Paul writes, “our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”

With regard to numbers, that is, the growth of the church as I defined it above, the power of the Holy Spirit inspired gospel to turn the hearts of men and women is   clear. In Acts Chapter 2 verses 37 through 42, Peter preaches the gospel to a gathering crowd, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven;” the apostle proclaims, “…Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” The authors continues in verse 41, “So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.” From this scripture we learn that sheer numbers are not the true mark. We must ask, “How many salvations, baptisms, and new church members were there last year?”In other words, like in scripture, is God adding to the numbers?

So it is clear that the Spirit-inspired gospel message is indeed enough to turn hearts and add to the church. God will bless those people and churches who have the boldness to proclaim the gospel. As we continue in Acts, we are given information as to how and where the congregation is to live and worship together. Acts 2:46-47 is very direct in saying, “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

How do we know that the lifestyle portrayed is anointed by God? We know because it is blessed by God as He, “added to their number those who were being saved." It is the intentional  teaching of the word of God that turns the hearts of men and women; and it is the intentional living of it that sanctifies believers through true discipleship; and it is discipleship that lays the foundation for the mission of the church by equipping the brethren. It can be said that the chief and irreplaceable purpose of mission is church growth.


 

 
 
 

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With Fear and Trembling

4/23/2013

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"In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement
your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence
with knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5) Brothers, so many teachers these days neglect to
teach the responsibilities that come with our relationship with the Christ.
Being saved does not mean we now have free reign to sin. Scripture clearly
teaches a necessary RESPONSE to our salvation. Think about it, if Christ
indwells you-how can it be any other way? LIVE IT my brothers. LIVE
IT!
This was our weekly text devotion. If you would like to be included, send your number to me at dealornodeal316@comcast.net 


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Fear of Man

4/19/2013

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The events of the past week have led me to think of the simple wisdom of Proverbs 29:25 which teaches us that, "fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety." (NLT) Admittedly that is more than a little hard to swallow when such "people" intentionally seek to kill 8 year old children in cold blood - but the message, in the end, is overwhelmingly powerful....

If we allow those who seek to instil terror in our hearts do so, we fall into the "dangerous trap" of which Proverbs speaks. Our eyes move from Christ to man and our enemy has won - our cowardly, lying, child-killing, gutless enemy who will NEVER come into the light and fight us - NEVER stand toe to toe with righteousness - and who will use every tool of this natural world to, like I said, persuade us take our eyes off the Christ and place them on man. 

I want to fight him so badly. I want him to come into the light and I want to watch Jesus destroy him. That day is coming, my friends, until then we must cling to the truths that sometimes test our faithfulness. I pray that the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ nourishes you in this time of trial. May our Lord bless you by the power of The Holy Spirit - and may you NEVERfear man but LOVE GOD.
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More New Beginnings

4/18/2013

4 Comments

 
I am overwhelmed at God's hand on this little church. As you can see, we have now also created this amazing new website that we pray will bless those who visit. I am thankful to Travis Jarrett and Justin Meier for there help in this project.
The site looks great Travis!

My prayer is that we will begin to create community through all of these means of communication. I hope that you take advantage of it and connect with the body of Christ as you are moved - as HE moves in you.

I guess this ends my first new blog on the brand new site. My mind is racing with possibilities and I want them all to come to pass - AND I WANT THEM ALL TO COME TO PASS NOW!

Be patient Brian - Churchtown is celebrating its 180th year as a congregation, I am CERTAIN it can survive a few more days without a fully interactive website.

Please check back often. Not only will our events and such be here, but so will our services - as both podcasts and as YouTube videos.
May God bless you and keep you.
Pastor Brian
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    Pastor Brian is the senior pastor of Churchtown Church of God and regularly shares his thoughts & insight here - he invites you to join in the discussion of life & faith!

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