Over the next few days I think I am going to post some thoughts about ministry, and the identifiers that make it personally fulfilling and enjoyable to me. They won't be in any order of importance, but just stream of consciousness type publishing. These have been rolling around in my head and on a few documents that I have been playing with for about a year, but I wanted to put them out there somewhere for input from others, and hopefully to make all of us think about what makes life and ministry worth giving ourselves to.
The church should be in the marketplace, simply because there is no place where God is not. I cannot imagine being satisfied with ministry that only had an impact inside a sanctuary, or was limited only to Sundays. I have a strong feeling that as a Christian and as a leader, I am to be a Christ-like influence where ever, and whenever. I also believe that the Church is not a building, it is a people, therefore wherever the people of Christ are, the church is. Hence, if the church is present, it should be doing something.
So what does a marketplace church look like? The beauty is, that it doesn't have to look the same as someone else's expression. The thing it needs to be is a change-bringer into lives and society. Many churches run coffee houses that become little community hubs, some churches run schools, daycares, really the options are endless. Honestly it can be something as simple as gathering a group of co-workers during lunch and studying the Scriptures. The point is that Chrisitians have the right and responsibility to be the church, not only in the privacy of their own homes or places of worship, but in the marketplace, where they work, live, shop, relax, etc.
Also, it should not seem strange that churches as organizations reach into "secular" realms to have influence. Churches should be involved in the entertainment industry, in the restaurant business, and every significant area of life. There is no place where God is not. He is native to every area of life, and so are his people.
1 comment:
Jay totally agree with this. I think the reason church people are satisfied with staying inside the four walls is because they havea defense mentality, protect my kids, my family, my jesus. But Really we are supposed to on offense.
We are called to Go and make disicples. Instead of protesting, movies, books, politicians, we should be producing better ones. Just my two cents.
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