Balancing Inreach & Outreach

When Churches get solely inward focused they can easily become a country club that is hard for outsiders to break into. When churches get solely outward focused, they wear themselves out on a mission that eventually has little to no foundation in community or biblical teaching. Finding balance here is difficult.

There are events in the life of a church that draws attention and resources inward and there are other events that can force a congregation to look outward. That is often natural and necessary. The trick staying in that space for the time needed and for the reasons it was needed without getting stuck there. Two examples – Church A decides they want to build a new building. They start making plans, having meetings, and raising money. Before long their conversation is consumed with all the things they need and want in the new facility. Meanwhile, outreach is lacking because all the focus has turned inward. They sure feel good about themselves and what they are able to accomplish. Church B decides that they are too institutional. They scrap all the trappings of the institutional church. They drop Bible class and even drop Sunday worship at times in order to go out and do work among the poor. If they aren’t careful they become just another social club that does good deeds in the community with no foundation in the Gospel and no spiritual transformation taking place. Like Church A, they sure feel good about themselves and what they are able to accomplish.

These two illustrations are caricatures. It doesn’t mean looking in is bad or looking out is bad. Both are good. But both can become an obsession that results in the direct exclusion of the other, challenging the health of the church. The majority of churches that are out of balance in this are too focused inwardly. There aren’t too many churches that err on the side of outreach.

Related posts
The Inreach/Outreach Ratio in your Congregation
The Inreach/Outreach Ration Part 2

The Problem With Our Evangelism Is That It Worked

And it worked because it was really all about us…

Advertisers want to convince you that you can’t survive another minute unless you have what they want to sell you. They lead you to believe it is about you…your image, your body, your happiness when it is really about them…their money, their shareholders, their reputation and image. Sometimes evangelism takes a similar approach. You tell people they have a problem, sin. You tell people there is a solution to their problem: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. They are told that their biggest problem is death and that God has provided them a way to have eternal life through Christ so that we can live with God forever and so that death doesn’t have the final say. It is like we are selling them a product that and if we make it sound enough like the whole thing is about them…their issues, their problems, and their future…maybe, just maybe they will be interested. That is the way to get people interested in something, right…make them think something is about them.

Success breeds repetition. When something works we tend to do it again. Presenting the Gospel in this way “works” and so it is perpetuated. A whole generation was converted to Christ with this approach to the message and many of them had weak and shallow faith…that when what was in it for them was no longer so apparent, they jumped ship and the church is now in decline. I can’t help but wonder if our decline is directly related to how we communicated the Gospel for so many years.

I want to say, the things I said above regarding what God has done for us through Christ are all true, no doubt. I am not saying it is wrong to say those things. The Gospel is about God dealing with sin and death and bringing us life. What I am saying can get misplaced is the focus on the message. The Gospel is not primarily about us. The Gospel is primarily about God. When we sell the Gospel as the solution to our biggest problem, it is not that we are speaking untruths, it is that we aren’t emphasizing the main thing. That main thing is God. Instead, we make it about us…our problem, our needs, our life. The problem, ironically, is that approach works. So we do it again and again. In doing so, we just tap right back into that Western way of thinking that the world revolves around us. Honestly, it almost sounds like God revolves around us…God did all of that for you. Yes he did. But why? Because we are so great? No. Because he is so gracious. That is the point. All of this is to God’s glory, not ours.

Now for scripture. In John 15 Jesus says he is the vine and we are the branches. If we remain in Christ we will bear fruit but only if God, the gardener, comes and prunes us. Here is how Jesus concludes the parable in John 15:8, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” The only way we even exist is due to God’s grace. The only way we have connection with the vine, which gives life, is by God’s grace. The only way we bear fruit is through our connection with the life-giving vine, which is by God’s grace. If you step back and look at all of the grapevines and all the care and pruning and planting it took to produce such a harvest, you wouldn’t compliment the fruit that is produced for such an achievement. You would praise the gardener who planted and tended to it for so many years. Jesus says, our being in the vine, which allows us to bear fruit is all for the glory of God.

So when we reach out and evangelize, let’s make sure it is all about God otherwise we just convert them to be more self-centered than they were before they were converted.

Taking Risks for the Kingdom

The New Testament is a continuous story of risk takers. John the Baptist is killed because he called out Herod on his sin. Jesus is crucified because the religious authorities thought he was a blasphemer. Paul was killed in Rome because of his preaching the Gospel. Stephen was stoned because of his testimony. Peter and John were arrested because they healed a man. Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned for casting out an evil spirit. Timothy had to stand up against false teachers. James had to make a bold decision regarding how to treat the Gentiles who were coming to Christ. Barnabas and Ananias took a chance on Paul.

These men took risks for the kingdom. They didn’t settle for comfort. They didn’t settle for staying home. The very word apostle literally means someone who is sent. These guys were out on mission, taking risks and expanding the kingdom. The question for us is this, how much risk are we taking? Look at your church budget and ask if any of it reflects any level of risk for the kingdom. How many of our programs and ministries are aimed at keeping the mature Christians comfortable and how many are designed to take the message to those who need it most?

Before we launch out, it is important to make sure we are doing these things for the right reasons. We don’t do it to be trendy. We don’t do it because it is a fad. We do it because God has called us to it and we want to be faithful to our calling. Most risks aren’t taken sitting in front of a computer but being in the presence of real people, those who need God and those who have the potential to lead but need someone to equip them.

Church Growth is Like Planting Flowers

We spent a lot of time in the flowerbed in front of our house over the weekend. We transplanted a few hedges into a new location and added a few hibiscus. My routine usually goes like this: I hit the plastic temporary pot a few times, slide the bush out, and the claw at the roots to break them up a bit and put it in the ground and water it.

After about the fourth hibiscus, something hit me. I was reminded of the church. Some churches are like the hibiscus in the temporary plastic pot, content with staying small, content with its roots being bound up in that little cheap pot. Not having a vision for anything greater. Plants aren’t meant to stay in those little pots…they are meant to be transplanted into bigger pots or even into your yard where the roots can spread and grow.

Transplanting a plant can be traumatic but it is necessary because in the little pot, a plant will only grow so large, but in the ground plants can grow much larger. Healthy growth requires tearing. It requires breaking. It requires disturbing the soil a bit. Instead of capturing a view of the church that is broad and big and expansive, I am afraid much kingdom growth is missed out of an avoidance of the pain that comes from being removed from the pot and placed in the ground, the very place God has called us to be. So let us trust in God. Let us take chances. Let us not be afraid of failure but be filled with the assurance that comes out of a life that is partnering with God to bring growth to the kingdom.

“³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.
³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree,
so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” – Matt 13:31-32

We’re All In This Together – A Sermon on Breaking Down Barriers in the Church

This year we are focused at getting the church to be more inter-generational. This past Sunday I preached on taking down the divisions that so often divide us in the church. The one I picked on the most was the generational barrier and how to have balance with that. A few of you ask that I post this, so here it is (for listen or download). I hope you find it challenging…

We’re all in this together

Two Realizations That Help Christian Unity

In Luke 14 Jesus tells the parable of an influential man who throws a dinner party. He sends out the invite to all the choice people, the in-crowd. As the RSVP’s come back he gets nothing but excuses…One guy says he just bought a field and wants to go look at it. Pretty lame…don’t you think he has already seen the field and don’t you think it will look pretty much the same next week? Another guy says he just got married and can’t make it…wise fella right there…still another guy says he just bought some oxen and wants to try them out. You know people couldn’t care less about you if they don’t come because they are test driving their oxen. Oldest excuse in the books. None of the people you might have thought would have been first in line come to the banquet.

So what does the man do? He sends out a second invitation, “‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’” Bring them in. Bring in anyone who will come! The servant goes out and brings in all who are willing. There is still room at the banquet. So the man sends out a third invitation, “‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.”

Why does God fill his banquet with such a motley crew, such a rag-tag bunch of unworthy people? Not only does he invite them…he orders his servant to compel these people to come to the banquet. This is a big deal. These people have nothing to offer the man. They won’t increase his status or make him look good. When you look at the room and see who is there you can’t help but realize the man who is running the banquet is full of grace and compassion. The shocking thing is this, these people are you and me. We are the ones who don’t deserve to be at the banquet. We are the spiritually crippled and lame and poor and blind. We have been given a seat at God’s banquet table. We have gone from the margins to the inner circle.

So what are the two realizations that help develop Christian unity?

Realization #1 – None of us deserve to be Christians. That should humble us and bring us to our knees. So much disunity springs out of a since of spiritual entitlement and arrogance. The truth is, none of us deserve any of it. Yet God, in his infinite mercy is the one who brings us together.

Realization #2 – When you really understand you have been saved by God’s grace, it should make us graceful toward others. Grace is a key ingredient to unity. Arrogance and pride magnify mistakes and differences. Grace helps us iron over differences and mistakes in healthy ways. So much disunity comes from having an ungraceful attitude. Being ungraceful and ungrateful leads to unforgiveness that often leads to unending, bitter disputes that tear brothers and sisters in Christ apart.

Try this: The next time you are feeling disunity with another Christian picture you and that other person as blind, crippled beggars eating next to each other at God’s banquet and see what is left that is still worthy enough to tear your relationship apart. Not too many things will pass that test.

Loving Those On the Margins

Be very careful to never marginalize others. Jesus frequently took people from the margins, excluded from their community, into fellowship with himself: the 12 disciples, the woman at the well (and all her neighbors), the woman with the perfume, Zacchaeus, you and me. Remember that prior to our salvation, we were dead in sin. When Christ raised us to life we were powerless, helpless and dead. It takes humility to remember where you came from. He has done it before and, before you look down on someone else, remember he will do it again. I would hate to be the guy who stood between anyone and Jesus! I am so encouraged that Christians today are serious about that part of our mission. It has taken some time but I am convinced that in many instances the church is turning the corner on this one!

The Book of Acts And the Shaping of the Church

Ever since I can remember growing up I have heard that the book of Acts is the model for the church. A lot of people say (correctly) that we are a 21st century church in a 21st century world and that means there are going to be some differences between the church we read about in Acts and the church of today. That is fair. I do think, though, that there is so much in Acts that we really do need to take notice of and emulate.

When I read Acts I read about the church away from the assembly. They are out there on a mission. They are seeking lost people and intentionally reaching them with the Gospel. They are prayerful about their direction and focus. They are relying on God in so many ways and for so many reasons. It is really pretty humbling. When I have heard people express the sentiment about us being like that church it worries me just a little bit because it is often implied that we are already there when the reality is we still have much to learn from their example.

Here are a few areas that I think they had right that are still helpful today

Mission
How much has the book of Acts shaped the one thing that stands out the most in the book of Acts? Our mission. If we are that church we read about in Acts, are we sending people out to reach lost people? I don’t mean sending checks (that is important and essential to many good works continuing). I means people…do the people who attend know they are a part of a mission, what that mission is and how they contribute to it?

Boldness/Zeal
Do we share their boldness and zeal? They took on the world. They spoke with kings. They upset the status quo and had meetings with rulers and authorities and found themselves in conversations with prominent people because what they were up to was significant enough to get them in trouble with certain groups.

Dependence on God
Do we mirror their full out dependence on God for direction? These guys trusted God. They didn’t always get it right but it always came back to what God wanted and trying to be pleasing to God through fulfilling the work He gave them to do. I am afraid there are some Christians who have learned to depend on doctrine rather than God. Again, doctrine is important, even essential but we must always remember who the doctrine points us to.

Imitation & Maturity
The point here is that being a church like that is more than form. It is about our heart. It is about our view of God. It is about our mission and our attitude. It is more than imitation. We can imitate someone else all day but it doesn’t mean a whole lot until we make it our own and grow to maturity. Strict imitation can be a real sign of immaturity and can reflect a real lack of dependence on God in favor of a dependence on form.

Ventura Church Of Christ Looking for a Young Adult Minister

A few weeks ago at the Pepperdine Lectures, I was asked by Dave Schulze from the Ventura Church of Christ if I knew of anyone who was seeking a position as a Young Adult minister. I told him I would see what I could find out. If this is something you would be interested in pursuing please let me know and I will get you Dave’s information. Email me here.

Also, thanks to these recent wordpress blog followers:

Princess Warrior of the King of Kings
The Quiet Christian
Joe Seeber
Brandemae
Laura Ann Day
Kendall Person
Michael Armstrong
Xiaoqian
Philip Johnson
Urban Wall Art
L.A. Powell
Kmo212
Jacquelyn Heasley

Eight Rules for Beginners Reading the Bible

Rule #1: Start with something that is easy to understand/easily applicable and work toward the books that are harder.
- NT: James, Gospel of Mark
- OT: Psalms, Proverbs & Genesis

Rule #2: Be regular/consistent.

Rule #3: Don’t read for quantity, read for quality. Reading the Bible through in a year is great but does little if you don’t learn anything, change anything, or draw closer to God based on what you read.

Rule #4: Read to understand, understand to apply. Learning information by itself isn’t the point. Application is the point. But you first have to understand what it says before you know what to do with it.

Rule #5: Prayer – Ask God for wisdom, insight and understand.

Rule #6: Realize up front that not all your conclusions will be valid – talk with someone you trust, ask questions and compare your findings with other scriptures to try to determine what is right.

Rule #7: When you run into difficulty, don’t go straight to a commentary for help. Wrestle with it on your own for a while first. Commentators are people too and they can make mistakes.

Rule #8: Not everything in the Bible is written for the same reason. Some writings are poetic and some are laws. Some are for instruction and others are general good advice. Not everything in the Bible is a command from God.

What advice would you add?