When Mission is limited to strategy alone!

 

Strategy has recently found increased relevance and used to accelerate, accomplish, and achieve their desired goals. However, it is misused and misrepresented, misleading people. Being a strategist myself, developing Ministry Church blueprint and a roadmap, helping Churches and ministries in developing strategy documents for many Churches and Organisations, I noticed some assumed that their Church / ministries have not done well in the past because they either did not have a strategy or probably the present one is ineffective.

Using this word in the context of Church and Missions is good, but I don’t think it is all about strategy and activities alone. The Bible gives us so many patterns (good, bad and no pattern) of strategies and models. Unfortunately, some focus on one strategy and miss the true representation of God.  I have noticed some leaders judge my efficiency of my skill by wanting to know if I could show a strategy that worked. But what they fail to understand is that strategy by itself doesn’t work, the intention, motivation and conviction to the mission are some of the key factors that complement the process.

Let me place before you few incidents from the Bible which did right but failed. Probably you can say, they used the right strategy yet fell flat.

1.  Incident where the disciples couldn’t cast out the demon: In Matthew 17:14-20 When Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain to reveal His glory, a man brings his demon possessed son to the rest of the disciples. The disciples fail, so the man approaches Jesus and Jesus easily casts it out of the boy. After he heals the boy, the disciples privately ask Jesus why they could not cast out the demon (V 19-20). What do you think? These disciples who were with Jesus, by now so accustomed to how Jesus was doing yet failed to cast out the demon. It just shows that it was not just the skill but something more than that. Jesus responds that it was because of the little faith, and few other versions which has Verse 21 states this, “however, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”.  Prayer and fasting are not the result of a strategy but relationship and reliance on God. Today, sadly you will get to see today prayer has become a merchandise, a program, activity, and an event.

3.  Sons of Sceva (Acts 19:11-16): Here Luke records the many unusual miracles happening by the hands of Paul. In verse 12 it records, “so that even handkerchiefs of aprons were brought from his body to the sick and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them”. Probably many today assume it to be a strategy to be followed. Since it looks such a simple strategy probably the sons of Sceva wanted to replicate it. Yes, as a strategy it looked so simple to just use the name of Jesus, heal the people and cast the demons out. The sons of Sceva tried it, this is what it happened. (Verse 15 & 16) “And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”. This is so true of current times where people have a superficial relationship with Christ Jesus and yet use His name deceptively for spiritual ambience. Paul to the book of Timothy states about such people as “having a form of godliness but denying its power…” 2 Timothy 3:5.

3.  Demon possessed slave girl in Mission (Acts 16:16-18): An incident where a slave girl who was possessed by the spirit predicted the future for her owner and brought large profit encounters Paul and Silas was making this powerful mission statement. Acts 16:17 “…These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.”. Was she deviating from the gospel? Absolutely not! But Paul had to command the spirit to stop the annoyance and come out of her. And it left her right away. Acts 16:18. Many are using His name right, using Jesus’ model right, but still are not a voice that can impact transformation. They need to be transformed first to use the mission rightly. Even demons can preach gospel and say the right thing as seen here but God doesn’t recognize such people at all.

Many missions, Church ministries, and leaders are assuming that a better plan, best model and an effective tool is the solution for global mission. I think it is time to have a relook at the perspective. Our God is a holy God. Stop improvising models, strategies, activities and hoping it is going to bring revival by the way we do things. There are many things that needs to be addressed at the heart level to make a serious impact. Would you consider doing so?

 

You may read the last blog HERE

 

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Church Institution Part-3

 

In my last blog we were seeing why Jesus did not choose to centralize institutionalizing of the Church. You can click HERE in case you missed to read the last blog. Kindly stay with me as I conclude on this topic. 

If you carefully observe you will notice that Jesus constantly reiterated the purpose of His coming. The purpose of Jesus was straight and direct. It says, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10. In order this to happen He had to go to all places. After being in a particular place sharing about the Kingdom of God and showing who the Messiah is, Jesus’ next destination was always the next village, the next town where they don’t know about the Messiah.  In Mark 1:35-37 it talks about Jesus going to a deserted place early in the morning and was praying. But by then the crowd found the way to His place, looking for Him. I guess the disciples were constantly living in excitement to have large crowds waiting to hear Jesus and to be ministered. In Verse 36 it says, Simon and his companions searched for him, and when they found him, they said “Everyone is looking for you.” Verse 37 And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighbouring villages so that I may preach there too. That is why I have come”.

Jesus reiterates the purpose of His coming again and again. I guess Jesus was not interested to give the same message in a new package to the same crowd day after day or week after week. That will sound churchianity, where people would visit the Church, every week get excited and go back to never share the gospel. In Matthew 8:18 Again we notice this happening, “When Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the sea.” Jesus knew the crowds will always be there but then once He ministered in a particular place Jesus preferred to go the next place where He is still unfamiliar.

Fellowship with the believers on a weekly basis is a great idea but then people come together to comfort each other, love each other, help each other and then they are gone. In many cases even this is not a reality. Why do we say the Church is the only hope for the dying world when all we have is only Christian brothers and sisters surrounded. Today, the Churches are becoming a good moral school where constantly the members are taught how to live good life, morally teaching them how to love one another, and so many how to's... but never how to share the gospel and holding individuals accountable on the responsibility of sharing the gospel.

Today, the Church in many cases is nothing more than a structure or a building facility and sadly even that in most cases mired in property disputes. The institutionalization Church comes in various types of offering. Basically, money takes the top priority. And we show to people that if they pay more offering, more tithes, they will receive more blessings.

Most of the people who started with a great passion to reach out to people with the gospel soon settled with this concept of Church. And then with the sustainable income source from the people the Church culminates to an institution under a particular denominational bracket. Thereafter, the rest of their lives pastors with the floating numbers keep managing the crowd so that they are faithful to their version of Church. All survive except the Christ mission. Paul Washer puts this thought brilliantly, “The ministry has become so driven by business and entertainment that many of the men who now stand behind pulpits would do a better as corporate heads on Wall Street or entertainers in Hollywood.”

Don't mistake me that I am saying Church buildings are unnecessary. What am I questioning, why the purpose of the Church today has become so murky? Why aren't our congregation who are supposed to be teachers, speakers by now still need milk? (Hebrew 5:14)

We want to think and believe Church buildings attract people to hear the gospel. If this was true Jesus would have at the foremost made a connection and asked His converts to attend the existing temple with its grandeur. Instead, He was seen calling people to follow Him. Soon we learn Jesus prophesized the demolition of the temple. Matthew 24:2 “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”. Jesus replaced the place with a movement.

Even in the Old Testament the Lord showed Prophet Isaiah an important thing. Prophet Isaiah apprises what the Lord said to him with great power.  Isaiah 8:13-14 “You are to regard only the Lord of Armies as holy. Only he should be feared only he should be held in awe. He will be a SANCTUARY; . . .”  Currently, the Church space has taken all the credibility. Christians respect church buildings more than Jesus and His mission. The church isn’t a building to be maintained, it’s a people to be mobilized. Let us not forget that all Christ’s disciples and His followers took the risk of going to all parts of the world and proclaim about the resurrected Jesus and being martyred for their faith. They wanted others to experience what they have found. Think about it! Let me leave with the thought by Leonard Ravenhill, "the world is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity, it's waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.”.

  

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