Missions and Visions

So I’ve been reading this book and I’m not that impressed with it. I’ll spare you the title so I don’t have any of the author’s defenders here, but the book deals with the need to cast a clear mission statement and a vision to the church. The author goes on and on about how most pastors can’t even name their own mission statement.

You might say, Matthew 28:19-20 is a good mission statement, but this guy says no because most people in your church don’t know what the words mean. The question I have for him is if your church members don’t know what you mean when you say your goal is to go and make disciples, what have you been doing with them? How do you spend your time on Sunday mornings if your people aren’t sure what the Great Commission means?

He speaks of doing all of this demographic work to study the community you’re going into because “The more the church is different from its community, the more difficult it is to reach that community.” Hmm. So I’m guessing that a church that is too distinctive will be ineffective?

He continually speaks of “seeker friendly” churches and promotes this way of thinking. Should we be seeker sensitive? Paul Washer says we should be Seeker sensitive, but there is only one Seeker (Rom. 3:11). To his credit, the author addresses this thought, but says that once the Spirit starts convicting the lost person, he becomes a seeker. okay…It still doesn’t justify a world-like church. If a seeker is being convicted by God, then he’s not looking for something worldly, he’s looking for God. Why build your church like the world?

If I had given you the title this would be where I would say that I didn’t recommend the book and I think your time would be better spent by reading “Words to Winners of Souls” by Horatius(sp?) Bonar

~ by n8nalley on April 30, 2008.