A New Vision In Our Current Time!
Home at 5 in the morning fighting a cold & aches, waiting for the doctor’s office to open to call for an appointment, I went on my Tweet account to see if anyone was talking about the 21st Century Church, the relevancy of today’s Church, or the five fold ministry in the Church. There was discussion on the first two topics, but none on the third, when the third topic could be the key to the relevancy of the Church in the 21st Century. After writing almost 300 blogs over the last few years about the Church from the perspective of the five fold not being “offices” by “church officials” but “passions” and “points of view” that drive believers in Jesus Christ, why wouldn’t the Church want to examine the relevancy of ……
- using the diversity with in the Church that historically brought its divisions to become the very strength of brining its unity?
- bringing “accountability” to those in the Church through “service” by “laying down your life for your brethren” (I John 3:16)?
- actually “equipping”, preparing the “saints”, not church staff’s, for the work of “service” as outlined in Ephesians 4?
- releasing those already in the Church to do the work of an evangelist, or shepherding, being pastoral, or teaching the Word, or bringing spiritual relevancy and life to the Word, or “seeing over” what the Holy Spirit is doing with the corporate body of Christ?
- cherishing its historical tradition, but allowing the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and speak to the relevant Church of today, the 21st Century, in how to be effective in a lost and dying world?
- building relationships, not on likeness, but on different giftings to share in service to one another and to draw on in time of need. In marriage we often chose opposites to augment our strengths and weaknesses, why not in other relationships?
I just may have to re-examine those six reasons in blog entries over the next six days! Join me, don’t be afraid to comment, and feel free to search any of my previous blogs for information and my insights.