A Church for the Future

While the NT speaks often about churches, it is surprisingly silent about many matters that we associate with church structure and life.

Architecture, pulpits, length of typical sermons, or rules for having a Sunday School.

Little is said about style of music, order of worship, or times for church gatherings. There were no Bibles, denominations, camps, pastors conferences, or board meeting minutes.

Those who strive to be NT churches must seek to live it’s principles and absolutes, and see it’s results. Not reproduce the details. If we reproduced the ones we know, we would end up with synagogues, speaking Greek, and some of the divisive sins of the Corinthian church.

Each church of the 1st Century had it’s own personality and style, fitted to it’s time and place. The Ephesian church was not a franchise of the Jerusalem church. Change and creativity were welcomed.

NO church has the right to deviate from the Bible, but each has the freedom to respond to the creativity of the Spirit.

New Leader for a New Day

The future will require some new types of leaders. Personally I find that threatening.

Peter Drucker says every time an organization doubles in size, half of the leadership becomes obsolete. I am a leader and I fear obsolescence.

I also know that it is hard to change. Many of the old ways are MY ways — I like them and feel comfortable with them.

I do not want to compromise God’s absolute truths on the alter of current fads!

Sometimes I would like for everything to stay the same till I retire and then all this new stuff can be someone elses problem.

That way I would be free to reflect on yesterdays successes and free to criticize the new ways of doing things.

But,

I’m not called to be comfortable

I’m not called to be a denomination

a Sunday service schedule

and particular methodology

I am called to Jesus Christ and have been commissioned by Him to reach my generation for Him.

That means I MUST change.

What qualifications must the new leaders have?

1. Attuned to their culture

It is not enough to know the Bible. We must also know our culture and our people. We must have incarnational ministries in the pattern of the Lord Jesus.

The incarnation put God into a human body. He was no less Bod. The difference was that He became human, bringing Deity to humanity. Incarnational ministry today does the same thing — it brings God to humans — without compromising God and with fully relating to human form and need.

The gospel of John explains how the Son of God did it when the Word became flesh and lived among us.

The book of Acts and the rest of the NT also explain how the early church lived and ministered incarnationally in it’s era and culture.

Flexible

Rigid people with inflexible methods are going to bend and break in the years ahead. In the changing times ahead we need leaders who are able to adapt.

Relational

Relationships are more important than ever. We need leaders who are real and approachable. We don’t have to be extroverts or always working the crowd. Leaders must live where the people live, feel their emotions, and intuitively sense their thoughts.

Good Communicators

Abraham Lincoln

Winston Churchill

Entrepreneurs

The ability to make something succeed.

They see opportunities in the changes and strategize to turn those opportunities into good for God’s kingdom and His church.

Risk Takers

Main street sidewalk of Longmont, CO, there is a plaque marking the spot where a butcher opened a store and went bankrupt. He moved to Wyoming and JC Penney tried again with a dry goods store and succeeded.

Henry Ford when bankrupt 3 times

Thomas Edison tried 10,000 times before his light bulb worked.

Godly

Christian Integrity

Tested and proven

Prayers answered

Corn in the crib

No fakes

No mere professionals

Genuine disciples of Christ.

Driving the new highway.