by Tim | Jun 29, 2010 | Our Culture, The Church World |
Audra thinks I’m being too mean to Andy Stanley. She’s probably right. Actually, I don’t so much have a problem with Andy Stanley, as I do with the general state of the modern church that thinks that we must all strive to be a “success” as we see his church. It bothers me greatly that this is the picture in our mind of “success,” when that looks very different from what I see the Bible emphasizing when it comes to the important things about church. For example, everyone thinks it’s important to have a great worship band, an attractive children’s ministry, a great facility, etc in order to have a thriving church. It’s like we put the weight on the totally wrong things. While it’s great to have a strong organization (no one likes a failing organization), etc…is this really where are deepest issues as a church lie? I’ve been part of churches that try to focus on these things, but have seen how quickly and easily we can neglect the more important things such as: 1. is the music appealing to unchurched people vs. does the average person here really understand what worship is really all about and who we are worshipping right now? 2. is the sermon engaging vs. is the sermon flowing from the pastor’s personal communion with Christ and are we truly communicating His salvation and the call of Christ? 3. is every aspect of our service flowing from one element to the other vs. are we actively seeking the presence of Christ with everything within us? 4. are we attracting visitors vs. are people’s...
