There was a line in last week's Charlotte Observer that hit a nerve for me. It was an article about the new pastor at Hickory Grove Baptist Church. You can read that article here. The line that got me was this:
In the competitive playing field of Charlotte megachurches, such a traditional approach, he believes, sets Hickory Grove apart.
Now let me clarify, I don't have any issues with Hickory Grove Baptist Church or any of its pastors. What I do have a major problem with is the idea that there is a competitive playing field among the larger churches in Charlotte.
The question I am asking is, aren't we all working for the same boss with the same goal? Shouldn't churches be working together for a common mission instead of figuring ways to attract more members than another church or members away from other churches? When did we lose our direction on this one?
Now it is important not to deceive ourselves, there have been divisions from the beginning, but are we as churches, leaders and members working against this trend or promoting it? There are times when I think that church leaders almost function as car salesman, asking the prospective member "what will it take to get you into a church today?" The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we promoting our agenda or God's? I believe churches today need to humble themselves and be less concerned with how many members they have and more concerned with establishing God's Kingdom here, in this place and at this time. We may disagree on a variety of issues but when all is said and done aren't we all hoping to reveal God to as many people as possible? Aren't we all trying to share the gift of God's love and grace revealed through Jesus to as many people as possible? I hope that is the case but when churches are competing with other churches I fear we are not revealing Christ to them but turning them away, because all they see is a dysfunctional family that can't get along and honestly who wants to be a part of a dysfunction family anyway?
We may chose to break bread differently on Sunday but when the day is done I hope we realize we are on the same team. We aren't competitors but allies, united through our faith in Jesus Christ. And if we are able to put aside our egos and our agendas and adopt the humility and mission of Christ I can only image how much good we can do for the sake of the Gospel.
Proud to call you brothers and sisters in Christ,
Chris
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment