21 Steps to a 21st Century Church

Dan Edelen has compiled a masterpiece among blogs, regarding church strategy, in "21 Steps to a 21st Century Church." I'm going to list his "Table of Contents," as it were, but the good stuff is in the "chapters" there on his blog.

He presented his list in David Letterman order:

21. Two-way sermons can increase Biblical understanding ("take questions!")
20. Leaders should seek out the gifted
19. Leaders should primarily come from within a congregation, and not from outside
18. Christian intellectuals must be honored [now that would change the church!]
17. A church's core values must be obvious
16. Deal with offenses swiftly
15. Not more church plants, but more connection to existing churches
14. Think like a visitor
13. Our neighbors matter to Jesus
12. Be a church for all kinds of people
11. Conduct a proper self-examination
10. Fire the youth pastor--then rehire him for his true purpose
9. Be hospitable.
8. Rethink how we use our time
7. Strive toward true community
6. Develop a holistic Christian worldview
5. Restore the importance of the Scriptures
4. Make the church for believers
3. Recover prayer & fasting--especially to repentance
2. Live by the Golden Rule
1. Show people Jesus

I'm not totally comfortable with numbers 19, 15, and 10, but at least they have made me think.

As to Number 21, it's similar to what I've long wished churches would do, though not quite the same. It seems to me that small groups could study the same topic as the sermon, allowing questions, further study, and discussion about how to apply the message. It makes good sense educationally not to let a message drop after one presentation; review aids recall and discussion aids application.

Number 14 reminds me of a church I was in several years ago, where the teaching was deep and strong. So deep and strong, in fact, that the two offerings for Adult Sunday School were "Systematic Theology" using a thick and expensive (though excellent) book by Grudem, and "Pilgrim's Progress." Great stuff! A few weeks into the quarter, though, I asked, "which of these does a new person drop in on?" I realized the design of the church was for "people who are already just like us," (cf. point 12)--people who have been students of the Word for a long time, that is. To its credit, when I brought this up to the church it authorized my wife and me to start a "Welcome Class" immediately.

Here's the punch line of that story: that church was part of a denomination known for its missionary heart. The denomination is growing everywhere in the world except the U.S., where it started. I'm convinced it's because it is not applying in America what it knows about outreach everywhere else. The church is for believers, yes (point 4) but it should be welcoming and hospitable (point 9) to all, and not those who are "just like us."

I could comment on more, but instead I'll encourage you to go to Dan's list and draw your own connections and conclusions.

Posted: Fri - January 20, 2006 at 10:02 AM |

Thinking Christian by Tom Gilson getCategoryName("<$CategoryUUID$>");

21 Steps to a 21st Century Church

Thinking Christian by Tom Gilson