Thank you for this post and the link to the Rainer post/blog. Very helpful.

Hope to see you at the Founders next week in Green County!

DD

Sorry for not checking this last night. I will email you in just a moment.

John,

Your skepticism is perhaps warranted, but on this issue, my hope leads me to believe the best for our churches. If the result is being played the fool, then I think it still would have been an endeavor worthy of my best efforts and highest hopes.

Steve,

I think that both the outward focus of missions and inward focus of member care have gospel-centered emphasis. In a sense, both are not believing Christ and repenting of their sin. That is not to say that church attenders are doing this by mere involvement in the church, but it is to say that obedience to Christ commands cannot take place apart from meaningful existence in the local church. The congregation takes responsibility for gospel ministry, and that gospel ministry looks in to the spiritual well-being of her members and looks out to those strangers to the love of God in Christ. While I am not sure how Sam would answer your question, I would say that the outward focus of missions is a way for the church to channel her efforts in gospel ministry that is balanced (both in and out) and biblical.

Chris,

Thanks. I will check it out.

Thanks,
Chris

A pastor cannot ignore is calling to do the work of an evangelist (by proclaiming the gospel and training others to do the same) while cleaning the rolls. To ignore the missions strategy would mean that forty years from now, we could very well be passing another resolution repenting of our failure to do evangelism. Sam, who has studied a great deal of growing and dying churches knows that once a church becomes obsessively inwardly focused, it is VERY difficult to get them to focus on the lost ever again. I believe Sam is right about the missions focus. God would have us focus on good ecclesiology to his glory. Good ecclesiology requires regenerate church membership, church discipline, and obedience to the Great Commission. You can’t have a good ecclesiology if you ignore the clear commands of Christ for his church, which is to make disciples.

Chris Bonts

And the reason for having a parallel outwardly focused missions strategy while cleaning the church rolls???

Thanks,
Steve

keithwhitfield [at] cox.net