t.j. addington beirut, lebanon 2010 [email protected] rethinking our philosophy of ministry
TRANSCRIPT
What are the greatest challenges the evangelical church in Lebanon faces
today?
John 17:20-23
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved then even as you have loved me.”
Our Unity and the Reputation of Christ
Our unity as Christ followers – or lack of it has a direct influence on whether the world believes that Jesus is the Savior.
Where there is unity….
Where there is disunity….
He was not here talking about unity in the local body but in His church as a whole.
In most cases among God’s people
We compete rather than cooperateWe emphasize our differences rather than our
similaritiesWe work independently rather than
interdependentlyWe are more concerned about our brand
than Christ’s brandIn all of this according to John 17:20-23 we
hurt rather than help the public reputation of Christ
Think About How We Define Success
The number of people we have in our churchOur programsOur facilitiesOur budgetsOur statusOur converts
Think About How Jesus Defines Success
The spiritual transformation of his peopleThe spread of the GospelThe unity of the churchThe Love of His peopleImpacting our communities, cultures, values
and practices as His people live out their faith in active ways
His reputation in the community at large as evidenced by our unity
Compare our Definitions with His definitions
The number of people we have in our church
Our programsOur facilitiesOur budgetsOur statusOur converts
The spiritual transformation of his people
The spread of His GospelThe unity of His churchThe Love of His peopleImpacting our
communities, cultures, values and practices as His people live out their faith in active ways
His reputation
Us Him
This is primarily about us
• The number of people we have in our church
Our programsOur facilitiesOur budgetsOur status
This is primarily about Him
The spiritual transformation of His people
The spread of the His Gospel
The unity of His churchThe Love of His peopleImpacting our
communities, cultures, values and practices as His people live out their faith in active ways
From Us to Him
Too much Christian ministry is really about usrather than about Him
and it leaves us weak rather than strong,
competing rather than cooperating,fractured rather than healthy,
The Cost of Our Independence
Our independence from one another hurts us personally
Our independence from one another comes from a spirit of pride rather than a spirit of humility
Our independence from one another reflects poorly on the reputation of Jesus
Our independence from one another hurts the spread of the gospel locally, regionally and globally
Moving From Independence to Interdependence
It does not mean that we lose our distinctives: Rather our distinctives complement one another
It does mean that we care more about Christ’s church and our brand of the church
It does mean that we care more about the spread of the gospel than who ends up in our congregation
It does mean that we are humble enough to recognize that we are stronger together than separately
It does mean that we learn to actively love, pray for, participate with and value our fellow believers
Independence
On my own
Interdependence
Ministering together
Interdependence
Gifts, Strategies, opportunities, people, resources, prayer, , , projects, fulfilling needs,
From Independence to Interdependence
ReachGlobal moved from replicating the EFCA brand to replicating God’s brand in its missions efforts
The Church Together in Buenos Aires
Christ Together
“Move from Spiritually Struggling to Spiritually Transforming: We help churches to become agents of spiritual transformation, leading people into a vibrant, life-changing relationship with God.”
“Move from Relationally Fragmented to Relationally Connected: We help churches to build deep and trust-filled friendships with one another, enabling them to pursue God’s dreams for their city together.”
Christ Together
“Move from Functionally Anemic to Functionally Healthy: We help churches to overcome the pragmatic ministry challenges that threaten the strength and vitality of their faith community.”
“Move from Culturally irrelevant to Culturally Inspiring: We help churches to serve their community together in significant ways, reshaping people’s perceptions of God, Christianity and the Church.”
Christ Together
“Move from Missionally Ineffective to Missionally Effective: We help churches to fulfill the Great Commission by reaching their community more effectively, one life at a time.”
WWW.ChristTogether.Com
Christ Together: Beirut and Lebanon
We can reach our Cities for Christ TogetherWe can reach out to our communities in real
service togetherWe can reach our neighboring countries with the
gospel togetherWe can uphold the reputation of Jesus Christ in
our community and country together through our unity
We can put aside our ambitions and pride for the sake of Christ, and the spread of His gospel
And in the end – we all win because Jesus wins
Christ Together: Beirut and Lebanon