From RelevantMagazine.com/boards --

lull45209:
"All I have to say is the most important part of church ought be the message; not the method."

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DCCowan:
I 100% agree with you. That's why the method is so important. Jesus called us to be like the disciples, "fishers of men." You don't fish the same way for every sort of fish. That's where method matters. When we get to the point where one way of fishing is the only way to fish, then we have gone the way of the Pharisees (and poor fishermen). The message NEVER changes. The truths of Scripture NEVER changes. The need for a Savior NEVER changes. Culture, however, does... an unfortunate truth for those of us with the timeless Truth.

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lull45209:
"Funny you say fishers of men. I wrote a parable on this them awhile back. Check it out (http://writing.jpauldesign.com/index.php?page=bistro) Nothing special, just fitting to what we're talking about ..."

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DCCowan:
Thanks for posting it; I am glad to wrestle with this subject with a fellow fisherman.

If I may, though... I think it was a bit of a strawman. I understand the meaning: the old, less flashy yet tried and true method won the day while the "community" dug up trash and caught on fire. More strawmen in the opening portion:

Quote:
"Mixed with the fear of our faiths' tendency toward unexamined adaptation, we shudder when our church begins ushering in multi-media presentations to "enhance" the worship experience, or increase the time taken to sing redundant and theologically weak praise songs (as the pews shelves remain undisturbed with dusty hymnals). We wring our hands as churches seemingly spawn like coffee chains and retail stores, where we pick and choose our flavors of faith, cushioned by music and bands and premium coffee, assured in the comfort of exit polls that determine if predestination and justification by faith are passé."

Wow... where to begin? Maybe I will leave us with a statistic:

Every day in America among evangelical churches, we lose over 10 churches. How many do we gain? A little over 4 a day. The net loss? 6.85.








Every day.



At some point the 50 year old fishing rod our dads gave us breaks (the method by which we fish). The gears where out. The handel slips. A new rod is necessary. God said it best: "Behold, I am doing a new thing." And though there is truly "nothing new under the sun" there sure is a difference between the 1950s and 2004. What's the diiference? A net loss of 6.85 churches every day.

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One:
Quote DCCowan:
"'What's the diiference? A net loss of 6.85 churches every day.'

Let us remember....

After Jesus performed a bunch of miracles, the majority of His disciples/followers left Him because they did not like the word He spoke. And He did not try to stop them.

All He did was turn to those who stayed and said 'will you also leave Me...'

The Lord is not after quantity as much as He is after quality."

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DCCowan:
He is also not about to let his church be ineffective without consequences. Remember the church in Ephesus and Jesus' words for it? God's presence and power would leave unless they remembered what it was like to be lost... and unless they remembered their first love.

Many times churches use their ineffectiveness as an excuse, as a way to make themselves feel better, IMO. They make themselves believe it's because they truly love God that no one comes anymore. That THAT'S the reason they are closing their doors for the last time, never thinking that it just might be that God has "removed the lampstand from their midst" -- the working power of His Holy Spirit.