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June 13 - November 24, 2019
In too many evangelical churches, the only transitions we see are the ones we think we’re implementing.
primary purpose is to make Christianity appealing.*
Attractional is not a style. It’s a paradigm.
when attraction becomes the primary mission, you tend to use whatever works to attract them.
What you win people with is what you win them to. The best motives in the world cannot sanctify unbiblical methods.
consumerism and pragmatism.
Pragmatism is what happens when you turn practicality into a formula.
pragmatism is a sinful way of thinking, if only because it does not rely on the Holy Spirit.
antigospel.
But when we assume certain tangible or visible results from our application and obedience, we have turned from practicality to pragmatism. We’ve moved from holiness to legalism.
focuses on what to avoid rather than what to do.
Whether you are prohibiting (negatively) or commanding (positively), the law of God cannot change a single human heart to honor God. Only the grace of God can do that.
widened the gap between its points of attraction, what lures people in, and its gospel motivations.
Pragmatic methodology is legalistic because legalism is what happens when you disconnect the Christian’s “do” from Christ’s “done” in the gospel.
We create tidy unbelievers.
it is becoming more difficult to think of the attractional model as generationally sustainable.
the discipleship culture of the attractional church is ecclesiologically unsustainable.
the consumerism of the attractional church wins people not to the church but to consumerism.
the attractional church is growing culturally naïve. Why? Because the religious market is growing increasingly post-Christian.
the attractional church is evangelistically unsuccessful.
The way a churchwins its people shapes its people.
If they aren’t won by the glory of Christ, they aren’t won to the glory of Christ.
What are the signs that a genuine move of God is taking place?
Spiritual fruitfulness?*
steady accumulation of decisions or responses during Sunday invitations.
Some of the most glaring sinners known to me were once members of a church; and were, as I believe, led to make a profession by undue pressure, well-meant but ill-judged. Do not, therefore, consider that soul-winning is or can be secured by the multiplication of baptisms, and the swelling of the size of your church. What mean these dispatches from the battle-field? “Last night, fourteen souls were under conviction, fifteen were justified, and eight received full sanctification.” I am weary of this public bragging, this counting of unhatched chickens, this exhibition of doubtful spoils. Lay
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Second, don’t put your faith in large attendance numbers.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a big church! But there is nothing inherently right about it either.
“Not everything descriptive is prescriptive.”
don’t equate success or fruitful ministry with people having emotional experiences.
“Examining our growth curve and comparing our attendance to churches around us,” Josh said. “It could be that we are where we are because we’re healthy. But I don’t think we really know if we’re healthy or not.” Matt the creative arts guy finally chimed in, somewhat meekly: “Does it really matter?”
the more important a metric is the more difficult it is to quantify.
This is one reason why Jesus appointed shepherds for his flock and not accountants.
What do I mean by fruitfulness?
A healthy body increases in strength, not sheer weight. The only increase in weight is due to muscle mass which is denser.
internal and external metrics.
grace doesn’t just supply feelings. Grace supplies faith.
is Jesus a bit player, an add-on for the invitation time, or a quotable hero? Or does your preaching and worship promote his finished work as the only hope of mankind?
if we are not helping our people comprehend, confront, and confess their sin, we are failing them.
“When the spirit that is at work operates against the interests of Satan’s kingdom, which lies in encouraging and establishing sin, and cherishing men’s worldly lusts; this is a sure sign that it is a true, and not a false spirit.”
Don’t do these things”),
a to-do list of good works.
But a mark of a fruitful church is a love for God’s Word.
Edwards said that a mark of a true move of God is a high esteem of the Scriptures. I fear this mark is missing in too many evangelical churches, including many that claim to use the Bible but aren’t effectively esteeming it.
Affirming the Bible’s inerrancy is not the same as trusting its sufficiency.
“Affirming inerrancy in principle, while rejecting its sufficiency in practice, is like saying your wife’s perfect while having an affair.”
“the metrics of grace,”
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(2)
(3)
Are those being baptized continuing to walk in the faith years down the line?
