Dear Discipleship-first friends,
How effective are you at connecting disciple making to the ministry of the local church?
Questions around church are tricky today. I wrote an eBook that you can download to help–it is a resource for everyday Christians and concerned church leaders to provide clarity on what the Bible teaches on this and related topics.
It is easy to start with a human perspective. We ask, “how do people best connect with God?” Some might say they do that in a church gathering, but many will not. Maybe it’s out in nature. For others, it’s in listening to beautiful music or in serving the poor. Still others connect with God best in their own personal Bible study or prayer time. If they think connecting with God is the purpose of Church, they are likely to think church is not necessary.
But we are asking the wrong question. Scripture teaches a different perspective, and it makes us start with a different question.
And while we are asking fundamental questions, it is also easy to make assumptions about what constitutes a church. Sometimes people will say that a small group they meet with regularly is their church. Others wonder if church is just gathering with other Christians to have lunch together or to talk regularly. Do these things really constitute a church?
And how important is church—really? Again, how important is it for those who don’t connect as easily with God or with other people in the context of a church meeting in a building? Or for those who have come to distrust organized religion and prefer more of a spiritual-but-not-religious posture, how important is it?
In this free eBook I will point you to scripture’s answers to these questions.
But before you get into the eBook, let me point you to a foundational question about church, grounded in scripture, and connected directly to disciple making. I hope it will guide you.
C.S. Lewis made a statement about church in his famous book, Mere Christianity. He wrote:
The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.
C.S. Lewis’ statement is grounded in scripture (Matthew 28:18-20; Colossians 1:28-29, etc.) and it is profound. It also leads us to the most fundament starting point and question on this topic.
How do we envision church as a place where people are made into little Christs?
Check out the eBook. I hope you will find it helpful, especially if you agree with C.S. Lewis’ starting point.
For King Jesus,
Bobby Harrington,
CEO Discipleship.org