How is an important thing when it comes to any part of the church. We can have all kinds of great sayings & inspirational quotes, but if we don’t learn how to do it, we suffer in the long run for it.
Matthew 16:18
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
The rock that Jesus was talking about here, was the revelation that Jesus was the Messiah (the Christ), the One they’d been waiting for. And as soon as Jesus was revealed as the Christ, He declared what he would be doing for the next 2000 years: to Build the Church – and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it (that means we win!).
I believe our greatest commission that we’ve been given is to BUILD THE CHURCH. But let’s get into the inner workings of how we are to function every day if we are to do this.
Let’s say we’re a local church. We have a pastor, people there, and we’re going to build teams. How do we function in a way so that it’s going to cause individuals to grow and the church to grow in numbers? (I think that churches should continue to grow numbers-wise as long as there’s one person outside these walls that doesn’t know Christ).
Prov. 24:3-6
3 Wise people are builders— they build families, businesses, communities. And through intelligence and insight, their enterprises are established and endure.
4 Because of their skilled leadership the hearts of people are filled with the treasures of wisdom and the pleasures of spiritual wealth.
5 Wisdom can make anyone into a mighty warrior, and revelation-knowledge increases strength. 6 Wise strategy is necessary to wage war, and with many astute advisers, you’ll see the path to victory more clearly.
In our bible schools, we teach the students to become critical thinkers without a critical attitude. We want you to ask the kind of questions that are going to help you (and others) grow without becoming critical.
That means we have to be willing to look at ourselves and ask some hard questions. If people come to church on Sunday morning and they think that the Christian life is just about being able to stand and feel good while we praise the Lord and worship, then they’re missing something. Don’t misunderstand me here, praise and worship are part of what we do, and it’s an amazing thing to do when we come together, but it is not ALL of church life. There’s a whole other side of it that is important if we’re going to Build the Church continually.
We’re going to look at one aspect of Building the Church over the next couple of months, and that is in getting feedback and why it is so important to us as leaders/team members.
If you have friends & team members that you know would benefit from this series, get them to sign up to our email list here so they don’t miss out.
Stay tuned.
John Grunewald