As a staff we are always trying to grow so one thing we did yesterday and will be doing for much of the summer is watch past church conferences on DVD. Yesterday we watched Craig Groeschel pastor of lifechurch.tv give a message during a Catalyst conference and in it he made some awesome points about the myths on about what a church should be and what he is actually learning about what a church should be. Here are the notes I took with some of my thoughts inter dispersed:
Craig Groeschel – Was Taught and is Learning
1. Was Taught – Church should be a safe place
We’ve been inviting people to know a safe God. We are only teaching people how to have a better life when we should be unleashing the word of God. We are creating cultural Christians.
Is Learning – Church should be dangerous
Preach Christ! (Crucified, risen, etc.) Don’t invite people to a safe church, preach the Gospel.
2.
W Was Taught – Build your ministry, build your church.
We become competitive with churches in our community. We build our “own little kingdom.”
Is Learning – Should be building His kingdom.
Build your church on what your about not what you aren’t. Be a team player. Work with other churches and ministries.
3.
W Was Taught – Success is only found in the big numbers
We can have a big crowd but how effective are we? This is when it becomes difficult to fully obey God.
Is Learning – The score card is changing
We should be growing horizontally, not vertically. We need to be pruning, in order to grow it healthier. Don’t blame yourself for the declines or we may take credit for the increases. We need a mega vision not a mega church to create life change.