Homework assignment

Paul G. Heibert wrote an essay, "Evangelsim, Church, and Kingdom," which I love. His main point is that we most often choose one of these as the main thrust of our church or mission agency and sacrifice the others.

We make evangelism the main thrust of our mission and we can write letters to our supporters with big numbers of converts. We like big numbers, but supporters like big numbers even more! Heibert says that we create churches that become "holding pens"(155) in which Christians wait until God takes them to Heaven. I love this imagery, but am immedaitely ashamed that we have really done this. We have made evangelism (and that initial committment) an end in and of itself. In a book for the church planting class I learned that the average time a person spends in the church after conversion before leaving entirely is 8 weeks. How is this even possible? I guess that explains how everyone in the south is "saved" but only 27% go to church.

Some make the church the main priority. People can't tell their friends about their own faith, so they invite them to church and assume that they will come to a saving faith through that. Our main goal is a membership number - so if we have to water things down a bit to get that number up ... well, it's all in the name of the church - so... okay. I can think of a number of churches that have this problem. We become "ingrown and self-serving," and we're okay with that. Most of our budget is consumed with maintaning the church building we have built and the ministries that we keep around for sentimental reasons.

The third reduction is a Kingdom focused church or mission. The idea is that our main focus becomes the Kingdom of God. We fight for righteousness and peace. I have a problem with this because I can't think of a local church with this problem. I know that the United Methodist mission agency (GBGMUMC) is very social justice oriented. I'm guessing that it started with a great emphasis on the Kingdom of God - but eventually went away from that and now just focuses on making the world a better place.

The solution is easy - just have an equal emphasis on all three! I love the solution. It's like the passage when Jesus says that all we have to do is be perfect like God. It is really easy to say - but boy it's nearly impossible to do it. It's almost laughable to think that any group is really putting an equal emphasis on all three. "With the King comes the Kingdom. The two are inseparable linked. When we preach Christ as Savior and Lord, we speak of his rule in the lives of his people. "

Can you think of any examples of a church of mission agency that is really emphasising all three equally?