The Most Controversial Christmas Blog Ever

Merry Christmas.


Sorry, hope that wasn't too offensive.



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Can a Broken Church be Repaired?

Popular author and marketing guru Seth Godin introduced a website called www.thisisbroken.com a few years back. People sent into scores of examples of businesses who had processes and procedures that were broken. The marketing strategy may have been broken or the processes in which the business used were broken.

Seth Godin mentioned an example of a busy airport in the States. There were 75 Cabs in the airport waiting for customers. There were 75 people lined up to catch a Cab. It took over an hour for the line to clear and for everyone to have entered a Cab. Why? The system was broken, and no one had thought long and hard enough as to what to do about it. What if there was no single file line?

Check out the photos below. Can you see the problems here?

 "Observe Warning Signs" - Now, if you are not observing warning signs, how could you possibly observe this warning sign telling you to observe warning signs?


"No Smoking: Pick up your Cigarette Butts" - Has anyone thought this one through? If people are meant to be not smoking, then why are we picking up cigarette butts?

So let me ask you the question. What is broken in the church? No, I don't mean that old whiteboard  and the broken music stand in the storeroom. I mean, what practices, routines, procedures and the like, are broken within the church?

Let me offer some examples of broken things within the church:

- People who care about what seat they sit in more than whether anyone new will be sitting with them
- People who smile and enthusiastically welcome the regulars 'to church' and then barely smile at a new person.
- An offering message that goes longer than a sermon.
- Having to reach a certain limit in the offering before the guest preacher will preach.
- Emerging churches that continually emerge and evolve and never knuckle down what in fact they believe.  
- Not speaking to someone in the church because they have offended you.
- Altar Calls that are empty when you preach about holiness and righeousness.
- Churches that spend more time on administration than justice and evangelism.
- Financial processes and procedures that will outlive Billy Graham
- When the nuances of theology and the debate that these cause, consume more time than needed.
- Disciples who turn away from Christ, because of the actions of fellow believers.

The list could go on. Much is broken in our churches.

Can a Broken Church be Repaired?

Well, I believe yes. As has been mentioned in previous posts, it will either be deep painful change or slow painful death for churches that are broken.

Let me say, when a church is broken, do something! Change the culture! Challenge the pre-exsiting paradigms of church methodology! Keep Jesus at the Centre! Decisively work through the broken things in churches, so that you do not hinder the amazing work of the Spirit of God, to grow and bless your local congregation.

Much more could be said. Though, you must taken each example of brokenness in your local context and work through it. Why are people not very welcoming? Why are people not becoming disciples? Why do people come to events and nothing else? Why do 20% of the people do 80% of the work?

You must think these problems through. Consider the solutions. Do something about the things that are broken.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Though if it is broke, you are responsible TO fix it!

#leadership #change #broken #church

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Is this the Greatest Issue of our Time?

The greatest issue of our time is not violence, drugs, sexual exploitation and the like. On the surface we may look at human rights violations around the globe and quickly assume these are the greatest issues. I mean, when an American student goes on a shooting rampage and extremists hold people hostage in a Kenyan shopping centre, it is easy to have this view.

Though the issues stem from something deeper.

Let us look at this first. This is taken from the UN, in relation to the question, 'What is human rights?'

 

Human rights are universal legal guarantees pro-tecting individuals and groups against actions and omissions that interfere with fundamental freedoms, entitlements and human dignity. Human rights are inherent in all human beings and are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each person.They stem from cherished human values that are common to all cultures and civilizations. (See the United Nations Document on Human Rights)

There is a problem here. The problem is, I believe one of the greatest issues of our time. Now, the problem is not human rights, of course, that would be ludicrous to suggest.

Are you ready for what I'm about to say?

The problem is that people don't derive their morality from God.

Now, here's the thing; without a foundation that provides objective moral values, human rights are simply subjective. So who says values are right and wrong? Do we simply shift our sense of morality as the times shift? Do we simply say something is wrong just because the majority say its wrong? Isn't this just humanism: whatever you would want to be done to you, you should do unto others. What if in this process a whole bunch of people start to suggest a new morality based on what they prefer; what makes them wrong or right in shifting their outlook?

The greatest issue of our time, is not the violence, and sexual abuse. The greatest issue is that people don't have any objective moral values that derive themselves from a faith in Christ.

Now, I can hear some people about to voice their objections. I know the question, 'Well, isn't there disagreement even within Christian circles about certain moral values?' Sure. Though, what I am saying is that without God, without the Scriptures, without the revelation of God's son, we are further down the gurgler than having faith in Christ as our foundation.

Maybe you could help me understand. Without a faith in God, what is the reason for your existence? Why have any moral values at all? How could you even find a frame of reference for any values you do have?

One absolute moral value that many a scholar has acknowledged is love. Betrand Russell said, 'What the world needs is Christian love or compassion.' Erich Fromm (a humanistic psychologist) suggests that all psychological problems come from a lack of love. Confucius said, 'Do not do unto others what you do not want them to do to you. Who would argue against love?' So if love is an absolute moral value, that does not shift from generation to generation, the question is where does that love derive from? Well, I believe that love comes from God and I believe that 1 John 4:16 sums it up with the simple statement, 'God is love'.

In the cultural revolution in the western world, with a continual shift away from the acknowledgement of the God of the Bible as the creator of the heavens and the earth, and a shift away from faith in Christ, we throw out the foundations on which we built morality from.

As we do that, all we're left with is some watered down humanism, that says human rights is really just about what the majority of people think is right and wrong.

Is this the greatest issue of our time?

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Help sharpen our thinking. Why not make a comment?

God bless.

Pete.

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