In Bishop Goodpaster's book: There's Power in the Connection he dedicates a whole chapter to Going on to. . .Greatness. He states: "We have thousands of good churches, filled with millions of good people who do countless good things and consider themselves good church members. The dilemma is that with all this goodness going around, the denomination continues its rapid downward spiral. We still consider ourselves a good denomination, with more members than most other Protestant denominations in the United States. But it is precisely that good assessment that prevents us from making the radical and necessary changes to reverse the trend and become a great denomination, serving an awesome God, whose great grace is extended to people of all nations, races, and generations."
If we are going on to greatness, we cannot simply settle for good! God is counting on us to coninutally strive for greatness, perfection in Christ Jesus. It is easy to settle for good, after all once we finally hit that zone of "goodness" we want to bask there for a while. However, God is calling us on to more than good. God is calling us to do great things. "Very, truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12 The message is pretty clear, no time for settling or basking, our work continues through the life and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in each and every one of us.
So, what are we waiting for. . .greatness is calling us!
You can find Bishop Goodpaster's book at the following website or Cokesbury bookstores. http://www.amazon.com/Theres-Power-Connection-Building-Congregations/dp/068764979X
Losing members isn't bad. It isn't a trend that needs to be reversed. The few who are chosen shouldn't think they should change because they are a few.
ReplyDelete