In Smitty's recent post, "Luxury liner...", the point was made very well that Christians are not redeemed so that they can live a life of comfort and security, but rather radical sacrifice for the glory of Christ and the good of others. I agree, and was provoked in my own heart after reading the post.
However, there is an important distinction that is crucial. Krook touched on this and I felt like it deserved a post. Is outreach the purpose of the collective body of Christ? Is the primary objective of the assembly and life of the group of believers in the local church to provide for the needs of others, or is there a different objective for the church's existence? Is being salt and light the purpose of the church (collectively), or of the Christian (as an individual)? Maybe the reason that Christians are, in many cases in America, living lives of comfort with indifference toward the world is precisely because the church is not performing its primary function, which is not outreach, but discipleship, teaching doctrine, exhorting, building up, etc. (Eph. 4) What do you think? Should the church (as a group) be more concerned with outreach, each other, both??
Since you asked - this is what I think. The church is a community made up of individuals, so in a sense, as individuals move (the idea being that they move together), so should the church. But the community itself exists for the individuals that make it up, for the reasons you stated. Everyone wants to be a part of a church that is doing great things, but few want to be the individual making those things happen. It's much easier for me to blame the church as a whole for not meeting my ideals, than it is to see that I am shifting my function as a follower of Christ onto something outside of me.
ReplyDeleteWhen Christ gave us "The Great Commission" he told us to go out and make disciples teaching them what he has commanded us. This is very much a two pronged task as we reach out to spread the gospel, but we must follow up with discipleship. Discipleship is a continuous task which helps to guard against false doctrine, support in times of need, and gently deliver others out of sin. Without this the christian, if truly saved, is fruitless and therefore never truly confident to examine whether they are in the faith.
ReplyDeleteThe point is discipleship. This is tho only way we will have an impact on the world as a whole. Every night when Collin and I sing and pray before bed, Collin almost always requests that we pray for the WHOLE World. I smile at his "cute" and overly-ambitious request, but go ahead and pray for it anyway. That was how I looked at it at first. Then I actually started to pray for it sincerely. How? How could I pray for this in all sincerity and not be considered crazy? Discipleship. If I disciple my sons and daughter, then they will disciple others, and the ripple effect will continue. We are bringing Gavin home from half way across the world to be a member of our family and introduce him to Christ. Who knows, maybe he will return to his country and make disciples of others there. Maybe my children will follow in my footsteps and keep the cycle going. Maybe I will lead a co-worker to Christ and they will go and make disciples. The ripple effect could be endless! Now does it seem so crazy to pray for the whole world? Not really when you think about it. The church (I) should be going out and making disciples of others-not doing "drive-by" evangelism.
ReplyDelete~Smitty