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PART 5 : Concluding Thoughts

18.  What sort of Church?

       

 

        

   

   

Chapter 18 : What sort of Church?

      

Content

18.1    A Review

            

  

     

 

   

Chapter 18 : What Sort of Church?

      

“anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing”

(John 14:12)

 

     As we conclude this second book on creating a secure church, can we look back over some of the things we've covered and now try to get an overview of the whole thing, asking the question, what sort of church will we be?

 

   

18.1 A Review

 

Chapter 1 – The Need

•  Do we see the need within the church, and within the world, to

    work for creating a secure church?

 

Chapter 2 – History

•  Do we understand the characteristics that make for a secure

    church?

•  Can we acknowledge the things that work against that in

    reality?

 

Chapter 3 – Strange People

•  Do we understand the concept of ‘strange' or ‘different' people

    as being one we need to counter and work against if we are to

    create a secure church?

 

Chapter 4 – Imperfect People

•  Do we understand the concept of ‘imperfect' people or ‘slow

   changing' people as being concepts we need to counter and

   work against if we are to create a secure church?

 

Chapter 5 - Togetherness

•  Do we understand the New Testament teaching revealing

    corporate church life?

•  Do we understand the potential of togetherness in church life?

•  Do we understand and can we live with immaturity in church

    life?

 

Chapter 6 Confession

•  Do we understand the importance of confession in church life?

•  Do we understand the things that make confession easy in a

    secure church?

 

Chapter 7 - Team

•  Do we understand the concept and value of ‘team' in

    leadership?

•  Do we understand the concept and value of accountability?

 

Chapter 8 – Relationship Strategies

•  Do we understand the need to communicate the vision of a

    secure church?

•  Do we understand the practical things that can be considered

    to help people feel secure on Sunday morning and at midweek

    meetings?

 

Chapter 9 – Mentoring

•  Do we understand the call to be a people who change and grow

   and mature?

•  Do we understand the difference between discipling and

    mentoring?

 

Chapter 10 - Preaching

•  Do we understand what it means to be a secure preacher?

•  Do we understand some of the things that make a      

    congregation secure in preaching?

•  Do we understand the distinction between legalism and grace?

 

Chapter 11 - Gifts

•  Do we understand the benefit of prophecy in the church?

•  Do we understand the checks and balances to create a church

    that is secure with prophecy?

•  Do we understand some of the dynamics of creating a secure

    church when there is deliverance ministry?

•  Do we understand some of the dynamics of creating a secure

    church when there is prayer for healing?

 

Chapter 12 – Light to the World

•  Do we understand our call to be a light to rest of the world?

•  Do we have a complete confidence in the Gospel?

•  Do we have channels for taking God's blessing to the world?

•  Have we thought through the problem of accessibility for

    potential visitors?

 

Chapter 13 – Correction Theory

•  Do we understand the need to consider correction and the

    variety of approaches?

•  Do we understand how difficult it is to lay down standards of

    right and wrong?

•  Do we have a full view of God's approach to correction as\seen

    in the Bible?

 

Chapter 14 – Correction Practice

•  Do we understand the needs for different forms of correction?

•  Do we understand the distinction between the need for

    confrontation and the need for teaching or discipling?

•  Do we understand some of the needed dynamics for

    confrontation?

•  Do we understand the distinctions between reconciliation,

    restitution and restoration and difficulties that arise?

 

Chapter 15 - Disagreeing

•  Do we understand some of the basic reasons why

    disagreements arise?

•  Do we understand the types of disagreement that arise in

    church life?

 

Chapter 16 - Conflict

•  Do we understand what we mean by ‘conflict' and the nature

    of different types of conflict?

•  Do we understand the effects of unresolved conflicts?

•  Do we understand how to help an Offender acknowledge and

    deal with their offence?

•  Do we understand how to help an Offended person deal with

    their offence?

•  Do we understand what is needed to walk out reconciliation?

 

Chapter 17 – Forgiveness

•  Do we understand the dynamics of Scriptural Forgiveness?

•  Do we understand how God forgives?

•  Do we understand some of the things that helped an offended

    person come to peace?

   

     

18.2 And Us Generally?

 

  And so as we move further into the twenty-first century, how will we go?

 

  In our churches,

 

•  Will we worry about minutiae of doctrine, purity of practice, exclusion of the ungodly,  and denouncing of those with whom we appear to disagree?

or

•  Will we create a powerful community of loving, caring and accepting people, who know what they believe but can tolerate and love those with slightly varying viewpoints, who are secure enough in themselves to love those who are clearly different from them?

 

  In our churches

 

•  Will we be inward looking, concerned only for ourselves, our worship, our prayer meetings, our Bible Studies?

or

•  Will we be secure and filled with the love of God, looking out to share the love of God with all who will receive it, whatever they look like, whatever they sound like?

 

 

•  Will we continue with a form of religion that so often pretends, that so often ignores the needs that are there, that so often maintains a structure without a heart?

or

•  Will we work to create a community where people are able to be themselves, able to be real, able to acknowledge their concerns, knowing they will still be loved and accepted, so that the love of Jesus can reach them and bring transformation, and where grace abounds?

 

In our churches,

 

•  Will we maintain a superficiality, a look-good environment that looks good on the outside but is worried, anxious and upset on the inside

or

•  Will we become a community of truth where ‘what you see is what you get', where joy and sorrow co-exist alongside each other and truth abounds because people know it is acceptable because grace is there to meet it when truth creates embarrassment or upset?

 

 

      These are some of the key questions that face the church in the West in the early years of the new millennium. Can we become a secure church?

 

     

     

     

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