Seven Metrics of a Strong Church

How do you know if a church is strong? Some used to point to the three B's: buildings, budgets, and butts in the seat. Thankfully, today many realize a church may be big but not healthy.  So what is the proper scorecard for the church?

Here are seven metrics from the church in Antioch. The Antioch church is often considered the greatest church in the Bible, greater even than the church in Jerusalem. 

1. Strong churches promote Jesus (Acts 11:20). How many times each week does your congregation share Jesus outside of worship? EVANGELISM
2. Strong churches minister cross-culturally (Acts 11:19-20). How many people groups, other than the predominant culture, receive ministry on a regular basis from your church? MISSIONS
3. Strong churches experience supernatural power (Acts 11:21). How many people got saved and baptized last month? PRAYER
4. Strong churches work with others (Acts 11:23, 25, 27). How many times in the last six months did your church invite other leaders (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers) to minister to your people? LEADERSHIP
5. Strong churches make disciples (Acts 11:26). How many new believers is your church currently taking through a process toward Christ-likeness? DISCIPLESHIP
6. Strong churches give generously (Acts 11:29-30). Last month, how many dollars, volunteer hours, and leaders did your church give away? STEWARDSHIP
7. Strong churches serve others (Acts 11:28-30). In the last three months, how many Spirit-led (out of the ordinary) plans did your church complete? MINISTRY

The De-Glamorization of Missions

For many people, the idea of taking a mission trip involves getting on an airplane and flying to an exotic place somewhere around the world. This is high adventure and quite romantic. Feel the excitement of carrying Jesus to a distant place! But is this really missions?

Going to the ends of the earth is certainly part of our missionary assignment. But the same Lord who said we are to go to all nations also said we are to go next door. 

"In Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" is what the Lord said. 

JD Payne, missiologist at the Church at Brook Hills, said if a Christian would go to all the cost, trouble, and danger of traveling to a faraway place to share Christ, but not share Christ in his own community it would be a case of "missional malignancy." Strong words! But perhaps necessary for those who have swallowed the romantic notion that missions is always "over there" and never "right here."

• Missions is the Good Samaritan helping the man in the ditch.
• Missions is Jesus taking time with children.
• MIssions is Philip on a country road, talking to a stranger.

Jesus said, "Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"

So, by all means, keep buying those plane tickets. Go! Go! Go! Just remember missions is not a seven-day trip out of town, it is a lifefstyle lived 365 days a year.

Law, Liberty, License, and Love

Every Fourth of July churches across America extol our political and spiritual freedom. Here is a brief summary of the freedom we have in Christ.

1. Law: the purpose of the law is to show us our sin and need for a Savior.
2. Liberty: once a person trusts Christ as Savior they are set free from the law and its obligations.
3. License: our freedom is not for the purpose of self-indulgence.
4. Love: God sets us free so we can serve others in love.

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" Galatians 3:24

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty, only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" Galations 5:13

Let freedom ring!

God's Finishing School

In times past, wealthy aristocrats in America would send their daughters to "finishing schools." These schools, located primarily on the east coast, taught young ladies etiquette in posture, dining, conversation, and all other matters of refinement necessary to be a proper young lady. 

The Lord is working on us Christians too. God's plan for us is to make us more like His Son Jesus Christ. 

In order to accomplish this transformation the Lord has to knock off our rough edges. And to do so, the Lord sends us to finishing school also. His school is not sophisticated or elitist. God's finishing school involves trouble. Through difficulty and heartache God polishes us. James 1:2-4 tells us to rejoice when we go through trials because patience completes us, perfects us, and matures us. The Greek word "finish" is found twice in verse 4.

Herein is one major difference in the mature Christian and the baby believer. Predictably, the young Christian moans and groans and whines and cries when they go through trouble. But the mature Christian is full of faith. They say things like, "I am sure God is teaching me something. Somehow I know this will work out for good. I'm trusting Jesus in this trial."

Have you ever seen a polished stone come out from a rock tumber? After being tossed and turned in the tumbler the stone emerges smooth, shiny, and attractive. Take heart child of God, that's what the Lord is doing to us. We are in His finishing school and when this topsy turvy thing called life is over, we will emerge victorious looking just like God's Son, Jesus Christ. So don't complain when you have troubles, instead rejoice.

3 Attitudes about Cross-Cultural Missions

There is a lot of talk to today about race relations. But the more I study people and history the more I realize things don't really change. Throughout ancient history there have always been conflicting opinions surrounding this volatile topic. In the first century, people in Palestine debated whether Jewish Christians and Gentiles Christians could co-mingle. Here are 3 attitudes from then, that are still with us today.

1. Some people oppose cross-cultural missions. See Acts 11:1-3.
2. Some people allow cross-cultural missions. See Acts 11:18.
3. Some people encourage cross-cultural missions. See Acts 11:23

Thankfully, attitude number three prevailed in the church in Antioch. A multi-cultural, missionary church then changed the course of Christianity and the world (see Acts 13:1-3). Will you and your church be the next history changing congregation?

Loving the Unlovely

The Bible makes it repeatedly clear that we are to love other people. We are to love our neighbor as ourself. We are to care for the widow, orphan, stranger, and prisoner. In both the New Testament and Old Testament God emphasizes the primacy of love.

This command is easy in some situations. Loving family and friends for example is natural and almost effortless.

However certain people irritate us and we find it difficult to love them. We know the clear biblical teaching about love, but some people test us.

What is the solution? Should we avoid them? Should we pretend we like them? Should we try harder to muster up some kindness toward them?

The best solution is to admit our deficit and import love from Jesus. Galatians 5 explains that our old "fleshly" nature is hateful and contentious. But the fruit of the Spirit is love. 

1. We must admit our inadequacy. "God I don't love this person. I don't have affectionate feelings toward them. You know my heart God, I can't fool You."
2. We must appropriate God's love. "God you are loving. Please fill me with Your Spirit and love this person through me. You do in me what I cannot do. I yield to You Heavenly Father. Live and love through me I pray."

An example of this is found in the nation of Japan. This tiny island nation does not have any oil of their own. Since there is no place to drill for it in their own land, they have to import all their oil from outside. This is a picture of our lives. We are not naturally loving. All love we get must be imported from God.

As we acknowledge our weakness and trust God to live through us we discover supernatural love flowing for even the worst of people. This is the only way to love some people.

Multi-cultural or Cross-cultural?

What is more important: Multi-cultural worship or cross-cultural missions?

It is exciting when different people groups come together for worship. The diversity can be uplifting. It is exciting to see different kinds of people touched by God's love.

Unfortunately, building a multi-cultural church is not easy. Societal customs and language barriers may be difficult to overcome. People tend to be comfortable with their own kind and Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour in America. This is not good, but it is reality.

Well-meaning Chrisitans may debate the merits of a multi-cultural church; but, there is no question that God has called all churches to cross-cultural missions. In the Great Commission our Lord tells us to "go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19)." This means that every obedient congregation has to figure out how to take the gospel to a people unlike their own. 

Too many churches are stuck in a pattern of only reaching their own kind of people. This is disobedience to the Great Commission. 

The Lord didn't say we had to change our church and make it multi-cultural; but, he did say we are to make disciples of all ethnic groups. This may involve  prayer-walking in a different neighborhood, starting a remote Bible study, sending out mission teams, or planting a new church. 

Multi-cultural worship is optional. Cross-cultural missions is not. 

The Weapons of our Victory, Part 2

Revelation 12:11 says, "and they loved not their lives even unto death." 

Some scholars say this verse refers to martyrs. It might, but I think the primary gist of this verse is about dying to sin and self. 

Satan "decieves the whole world." His aim is to get people to wander or go astray. To accomplish this, the devil uses all manner of tempations.

The best way to defeat temptation is to die to it. Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily (Luke 9:23)." 

Satan promises life, but it leads to death. Jesus invites us to die so we might live.

The Weapons of our Victory, Part 1

How do we overcome Satan and his incessant condemnation of us?

Revelation 12:11 tells us, "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the testimony."

• Satan tells us we are "no good." God tells us "we are forgiven."
• Satan tells us we are "guilty." God declares us "righteous, washed in the blood of the Lamb."
• Satan says we are "worthless." But God says, "We have purchased with a price. Thus we are valuable in His sight."

So the next time a little thought whispers in your head thoughts of condemnation. Don't accept it and don't argue with it. Instead look to Jesus and the cross. Put your faith in the  "blood of the Lamb."

The Tactics of our Enemy, Part 2

• Through temptation Satan makes sin seem better than it is.
• Through condemnation Satan makes us feel worse than we are.

Job 1-2 and Zechariah 3 show the devil accusing God's people. Notice Job and the High Priest Joshua were both righteous men, but that doesn't deter the enemy. He whispers his lies (Rev. 12:10).

• You are garbage
• You are worthless
• You should just kill yourself
• You are guilty
• You don't deserve to go to church, cause you are a big fat hypocrite!

Don't listen to the devil, because a discouraged believer is a defeated Christian. In tomorrow's post we'll talk about how to overcome the devil's accusations.