A great post on balancing the gospel and social ministry

Check out this post by Pastor JD Greear on balancing gospel proclamation and social activism. Read his post...then comment back here. I would love to hear your thoughts...

Grace,

Begin with "Yes, we can."

A reason to say "Yes." I read a great post by Seth Godin on Monday. His post is linked here. Seth is a business marketing guru and cultural communicator and he makes some good observations, primarily for the business world. Occasionally, I find an application to what we do in other areas of our lives...specifically for me, in the church.

When confronted with "the challenge," do you look for reasons to make it happen, or reasons to decline? When someone stop you "midstream" from point "A" to point "B" and asks if you can help them...do you default to "sure, what can I do for you?" or "I am sorry, but not right now."

We should always present the "Yes." Back in the day when I coached salesmen, I used to tell them to answer each concern or objection with "No problem," or "Absolutely." For instance, if someone says, "Your price is too high. Can you cut it?" My response: "Absolutely. We can adjust the price to a number you are comfortable with. We have worked to present a great value to you, but we are absolutely willing to work harder to customize the program further, to better fit your needs. Which of the features presented are unnecessary or should we remove?" Often, when we begin with "Yes" and then explain what it takes to get there as we work with an individual, they change their mind...but they feel that they are heard and appreciated. And...they are.

Something about beginning with "Yes" rather than "No" or "I'm Sorry" sets the tone for a great partnership. Try it this week and let me know how it goes!

The greatest need today...

There is a focus among church pastors and leaders to approach the task of making disciples of Christ in culturally relevant ways. For some...that means trying the newest and coolest techniques and methods. These methods may include stage props, dress, music, videos, or topics covered in multi-week series.

In many cases, the chasing of the "new" becomes more focused on than what is really important.

What we NEED to do is find culturally relevant (missional) ways to communicate the truth of the gospel and then DO IT.

I read a great post written by one of the leaders in the field of evangelism and church growth.
(You can read it here: http://jdgreear.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/12/i-dont-want-to-be-new-and-innovative.html)

Summit Church is a community impacting and transforming church in a deeply "church saturated" culture. Still, while many churches exist in their community, Summit has found a way to get the job of evangelism and discipleship done...better than most.

How do I define "better?" The same way Luke did in the Book of Acts, "and the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47). In fact, throughout the Scriptures...numerical growth and spiritual depth (discipleship) go hand-in-hand.

Some might propose, "I am growing deeper in love with Christ, and more aware of who God is, but I am not actively sharing my faith with anyone." This is not possible. It is not possible to grow closer to Jesus and not grow more passionate about evangelism. We can grow more knowledgeable and not be passionate about evangelism. We can grow philosophically and not be passionate about evangelism. But, if we grow closer to Jesus and come to know the heart of God deeply...priority one is communicating the gospel with others.