In Chapters 4 and 5 we start to get into the meat of what it means to be an Externally Focused Church. Chapter 5 speaks to the church’s responsibility to help people grow spiritually and that helping people serve is an important part of that process. Do you agree? Is it the church’s responsibility to provide opportunities to serve? What did you think of the example of the church in Atlanta that disbanded all its small groups until they instituted a service component?
Chapter 5 focuses on the relationships built between the church and the community. When forming partnerships with agencies, the book recommends looking for those that are, “morally positive and spiritually neutral.” Do you think this is a good approach? What agencies in our community fit that description? Are you personally involved in any community concerns?
Feel free to comment on these questions, or any other issues that were meaningful to you as you read through these chapters.
July 18, 2007 at 1:22 am
I appreciated the different approaches to encouraging an externally focused congregation profiled in Chapter 4. I think the danger in putting the onus on the church is that it may somehow imply an absence of personal responsibility. If Deer Creek did absolutely nothing to encourage its members to serve in the community, it would not be honoring God or fulfilling the Great Commission. However, each one of us has the responsibility to complete the work that God has prepared in advance for us to do anyway.
I was personally convicted when reading about the idea of building relationships in Chapter 5. I highly value personal relationships, love getting to know new people, and talking with people about spiritual things. However, relationships take a lot of time and work and sometimes I lack the energy to nurture something new.
In terms of relationships within the community and within ministries in which I may serve, they take a high sense of personal responsibility and integrity in terms of follow through and finish.
For example, my family provided dinner for 30 kids and adults at an inner city ministry for three consecutive weeks this summer. I personally found this to be in my “sweet spot”: it met a community need, the desires of God, and fit within my calling and capacity. I can honestly say that I love everything about this ministry (The Third Story) and I want to be more involved. Dinner on Wednesday and Thursday nights is an ongoing need, all year round, and something I could and would gladly do, IF I were single. But I have a husband and three busy kids and a calendar with not enough white space. I have to carefully consider how or if I can be involved and pray that God will show me how to create space in my life. I can’t just jump into this because there is a need that I have the ability to meet. Ministries involving children or mentoring often require a one-year commitment. Could I do that? Could you?
As a church, I think we have to under promise and over deliver in terms of service. Sometimes the wise and responsible thing to do may be to say, sorry, we can’t help right now, rather than organize an event or commit to providing volunteers for something unless we have clear direction from God and confirmation in the form of critical mass.