As a pastor I’m often honored to provide a “letter of reference” for someone’s application process. But it’s interesting to read what Paul considered a leader’s real reference letter. He said it was the spiritual maturity of those we’ve been leading. Paul reminded the Corinthians, “You yourselves are our letter [of recommendation], written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry” (2 Cor. 3:2-3).
If you’re a leader at Hillcrest, take a few minutes to reflect on what our leadership is producing within the Hillcrest family.
Timmy Brister posted “21 Questions I’ve Been Asking (Myself) Lately” on his blog. I want to highlight some of the questions that made me pause.
If our church would cease to exist in our city, would it be noticed and missed?
Is our church known more for what we are not/against than what we are/for?
These are questions of how our church is perceived in our city. We’re to lead our congregation to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7).
If all the [church staff was] tragically killed in a car accident, would the church’s ministry cease or fall apart?
How many people know and are discharging their spiritual gifts in active service and building up of the body of Christ?
These are questions of equipping. Pastors are God’s gifts to the church “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11-12).
If the only possible means of connecting with unbelievers were through the missionary living of our church members, how much would we grow? (I ask this because the early church did not have signs, websites, ads, marketing, etc.)
Are the people we are reaching more religious or pagan?
What can we learn about our evangelism practices by the kind of people are being reached with the gospel?
How many people do I know (and more importantly know me) on a first name basis in my community and city who do not attend our church?
These are questions to probe how far the Hillcrest INVITE Strategy has worked its way into the daily living of the Hillcrest Family.
If our members had 60 seconds to explain to an unbeliever what our church is like, what would you want them to say? How many do you think are saying that?
This is a question of how clearly our people grasp the vision of our church, which is to be a community where people can find and follow Jesus together.
In what ways have we acted or planned in unbelief instead of faith?
If money and space were not an issue, what is one thing we ought to dream for God to do in our midst where it is impossible for anyone to get the credit except for the omnipotent hand of God?
These are questions to probe the bigness of our faith in the context of our decisions. Our congregation will receive the renovation recommendations from our First Impressions Team in a couple of months, and this will be a big test on the bigness of our Family’s faith.
How would you answer these questions? And how are you doing as a partner in the Hillcrest leadership to ensure that we raise up a church that makes God smile?
_______________________________
Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by more than 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.
No comments:
Post a Comment