I have been away from the diner for a long time, and it is great to see you all again after my vacation at Howard Hospital and Holy Cross Rehabilitation Center.
Our last discussion involved transformation of a person as he gives himself totally to the Father and His Son.
We covered the concern that some of us have that we have become lost in the world’s culture and therefore have lost our voice.
We learned that some are willing to send money for global ministries, but when it comes to glocal (local) ministries some are afraid that they will be politically incorrect if they speak of our Master to someone.
Personally, I want to be spiritually correct.
The questions are not how many people come to the 9:30 service as opposed to the 11:00 service or is the music the type we appreciate, but rather how can we find our evangelistic voice?
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Finding our Evangelistic Voice
You see, Jesus proclaimed that we are to be “salt” and “light” in our world and I fear that some Christians are flickering lights. We need to be salt in our character before we can be effective as light.
The image of salt and light speaks of the eagerness to get out the message of Jesus Christ. Transformation means we are to recapture the salt and light concept that Jesus lived. We need to mirror Jesus in how we live. The question is how does the church (people) fit into glocal evangelism?
Is the church the only true vessel for the kingdom of God?
No, but it is the local practical expression of it and it is the most underutilized vehicle for expanding the kingdom.
Instead of attempting to change society by more religious workers, we ought to focus on utilizing and transforming people who are already on the inside sitting in our pews. If we are to truly be kingdom centered and truly transformed, we would not be fearful of sharing our faith within a perverse world. We are to have faith not fear. We need to overhaul our evangelistic life.
Can following Jesus ever be private?
No! We as the Christian community must make a connection with the outside world. For the most part community means different people. The world itself means common unity.
I think the church today has confused community with socialization. We come together for worship and let ourselves be a community. The idea to me is to take that message and proclaim it to the surrounding community.
Connection is crucial
Connection is crucial to using your evangelistic voice in your glocal church (your Jerusalem). Hebrews 12:1-3 indicates that the gospel proclamation is personal not private; it is a picture of connection. Connection helps us with our call as Christians and that reflects the kingdom.
Glocal missionaries cause Glocal Impact
Glocal impact is where we challenge every member to serve the community locally and glocally.
Therefore the church is to be ready to serve God as the glocal missionary in order to have a glocal impact. The Church (community unity) can have everyone be part of the action.
Is Transformation Possible?
Transformation is possible because we are in an interactive relationship with God, accountable with other believers, and responding to ministry opportunities.
If we were all transformed, perhaps the church could turn the world right side up.
Next time we shall look at Renewed and Revived.
In His
Lou
Transformation: More Than Turning Over a New Leaf
Glad we are back in the diner where it is nice and cool.
At the conclusion of our last get together, I had left us with the thought of how the Boomer and the Builder generations could have an impact on tomorrow’s church. One thought is being “transformational in the church.”
Transformational = Transformed
In January, I along with other pastors, studied a book and attended a conference entitled “Transformational Church.” I found both the book and conference interesting, and in my opinion very thought provoking.
I began to think about churches that I had belonged to and ones that I had pastored. I thought of how many of them were not transformational and now sadly realized that in turn we/people were not transformed.
Stepping Up our Glocal Efforts
We need to find our voice as stated by Bob Roberts Jr. in his book Transformation; “Not only, in my estimation, do we need to remain global in our evangelism but we need to step up our glocal efforts.”
What would our churches look like if the entire body of people like me would be mobilized and touch the people we come in contact with the message of Christ?
So how did we lose the evangelistic voice that we once had?
First: We became lost in modern thought within the world.
We began to think that individuality, reason, science, and optimism would build a church rapidly. True, the church did produced results and momentum,which in return caused results to reign supreme. The church then began to look at the results and quoted God in creation, “It is good.”
The truth of the matter was we needed to examine the results that we were getting.
In other words, the church unwittingly merged with the same operating principles of governments and corporations but with only different products.
Secondly: The church became lost in consumerism.
We became lost in consumerism as the church began to think that the services that it provided had to be entertaining in order to make the gospel palatable to all.
This may have had increased the numbers of attendance, but did it increase the spiritual level of the church?
The church may have increased in size, buildings, budget, and yet we may not have succeeded in transforming lives.
Thirdly: We became lost in mega-mania.
Surely there are other factors that have affected the church, but I believe that in our church culture we think size proves success.
If you look at the Great Awakenings in America, the evangelistic movement did not, for the most part, consist of massive crusades but rather through small churches that touched their communities.
I feel that many churches today have lost their voice for their communities and according to Bob Roberts Jr: “The question is not should churches grow, but why should they grow?”
I wished I had more time here at the diner, but let me leave you with some thoughts that I gleamed from my study of the “Transformational Church,” by Ed Stetzer and Thom S. Rainer.
- The apostle Paul had an evangelistic voice. He did not travel to places on his missionary journeys – he traveled to people.
- Real transformation or change starts with a new life not a new leaf.
- Real transformation or change is a process not a destination. It is an encounter to mirror Jesus.
- Real transformation or change is letting go and grabbing hold.
Let us think about going glocal as well as global by letting ourselves be transformational and regain our evangelistic voice.
Have a great week and next time we will have new menus with new selections at the diner.
Lou
In His
