· Churches that are healthy have pastor(s) and leaders who are humble, exhibit patience and the Fruit of the Spirit, and have a strong sense of indebtedness to God and others.
· Unhealthy churches tend to have pastor(s) and leaders who are not humble, but rather seek formulas, trends, and do not feel indebtedness to God and/or others.
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Did you know after over 30 years of conducting church growth research, one of the primary ways a church grows is because of its fruitfulness demonstrated by “Hospitality?”
How does the fact that the great news of Christ gives us the ability to have Hospitality to take you through your community connections? How can it better keep you from being distracted from the real call and the precepts of our Lord Jesus Christ?
The Quintessential way to Grow your Church is to Understand and Implement Hospitality!
However, as a “spiritual gift,” some Christians will have a specific call and empowerment to do this. People in the world may be more concerned for their own needs and agendas than they are for God’s clear doctrine and purpose, but as Christians, we are called to go beyond ourselves to serve others well (Titus 2).
How do we know this is at work? “Kindness” is the proof of authenticity (Rom. 2:1-4; 12:4-21; 16:1; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:12-14; 1 John 3:16-23)!
If your church is personality driven, that is the pastor is the center stage, a hipster or megalomaniac personality, what you have is not a church, but at best a motivational speaker club. Thus, there is no real reason a person will be at your church except to have their ears tickled and with such a shallow pool, no real ministry will commence or people helped effectually. A true pastor must teach, lead, coach and disciple and point the church leadership to Hospitality foremost before any wants of the leadership come and not the needs of anything that disrupts or distracts peoples from Christ.
What does this mean in a church?
As Christians, we are to typify faith and reason together so we can exhibit the maturity needed to make the fruit of the Spirit and its byproduct of Hospitality, by also making wise decisions and have a purpose in life and put it in play as a community. This also means directly caring for those in need, such as the sick, infirmed, and poor.
Filed under: Building a Fruitful Church, Leadership Issues | Tagged: attitude, Attitude of Christ, church grows, church growth research, community, connections, fruitfulness, Hospitality, Implement Hospitality, maturity | Leave a comment »
· Churches that are healthy tend to be focused on prayer and seeking what God has for them; they are interested in what God intends and the opportunities that are at hand.
· Unhealthy churches tend not to be focused on prayer, and they seek what they want, ignoring what God and His Word has for them.
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“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”1 Peter 4: 9-10
Does Hospitality cover your church? Do you use it to help others?
We are to be fueled and empowered by God’s love, and this includes its fruit of Hospitality, for those who come to our church. If not, we are not getting it. We are not getting what church is about, we are not getting what God’s call is or our purpose in the community.
Let’s look what this means. “Hospitality” specifically refers here to taking in travelers with generosity-not grudgingly or with complaining. In general, since we have Christ’s love flowing in us, it should flow to others around us.
This means we are to be willing to give preference to others, to look out for and look after one another, and to share, with discernment, what God has given us, including our family, home, finances, and food. In the church setting, this means we get beyond “the church is mine” mentality.
“Hospitality” is an attitude of stewardship where we do not own anything because we are merely the caretakers for the real owner, God. He desires us to share His stuff, and we comply out of reverence and gratitude to Him. Thus, as we come along side others, we are to welcome them and act out our faith in real, helpful kindness, generosity, and deeds. This includes providing help and lodging to fellow Christians, helping those who are being persecuted, and helping out in our community (Matt. 25:34-43; Luke 10:30-37; Rom. 12: 3-8, 13: 16:33; 1 Cor. 12:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:2; 5:10; Titus 1:8; Hebrews 13:2; 3 John 1:5-8).
“Use whatever gift” means to practice your spiritual gifts, and realize that the diversity we have is beneficial for one another. It also means being charitable or generous to others with what Christ has given you, and to serve Him without being held back by fear, time, or lack of talent.
“Very words of God” refers to Scripture, the words that God has spoken to us. This means to be careful how you speak and minister as we sometimes speak for God as He uses us!
Hospitality is the turning of our backs on our ‘ownership’ of the church, thinking it is mine and just my self-concerns and facing our neighbors. This will take the surrender of our will to Christ’s. If Hospitality does not take us beyond our pride and ownership mindset, then we have only a club of pride, not a real church infused with God’s love.
Hospitality must be our model for church life. It must flow into us from Christ, and in return, flow out from us to those around us. God’s love is the ultimate power for the Christian. Love is more than a feeling; it has segments and characters to it (John 13:1; 15:13;1 Corinthians 13:3; 1 John).
Love is also a choice, a decision that must be perused and worked on!
Filed under: Building a Fruitful Church, Leadership Issues, Pastors | Tagged: Attitude of Christ, Christ's love, church is mine, community, empowered, generosity, Hospitality, kindness, love, love flowing, Love is a choice, Love is a decision, Ownership, Scripture, Spiritual Gifts, stewardship, words of God | Leave a comment »
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The power of the Gospel is given to us and it is our responsibility to heed it.
The key to successful evangelism is the same as in advertising a product in the secular world; you have to “show and tell” others. We as Christians are the product demonstrates of our LORD. We do this by words and by our actions of our Christian character and fruitful and faithful living.
The definitive reason for us to proclaim the Gospel is so that God’s elect in a wicked world may see faith demonstrated and explained, to see the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation, and to have eternal life.
Be the difference, so others can see our Living Lord in the mirror of yourself who reflects Him! To reflect Him, we have to act, think, and be as He has called us (John 5:24; 2 Cor. 5:20; Heb. 9:27).
Filed under: Building a Fruitful Church | Tagged: evangelism, proclaim the Gospel, product demonstrates, show and tell, successful evangelism | Leave a comment »
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