Eutychus

What does God want for this church? In which direction should we go? How does this church have to change? Where do we start? How cautious or bold should I be? Will it work? What will I do if it fails? I’ve asked these questions and I expect that many other pastors, especially new pastors like me, have also asked them.

The prevailing answer today is the “seeker-sensitive” or :purpose-driven” approach. But I am repulsed by its dependence on marketing, demographic niche-filling, entertainment, and consumerism. I cannot take the riches of God’s Word and craft sermons consisting of “life principles.” You’ve heard them, sermons series like: “The Decalogue: Ten Principles for a Better Sex Life.”

I am also persuaded that there is another, better, more Scriptural way to go. And there are churches that are showing us the way. Churches like Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, and Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, M.D. I’ve seen it first-hand at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY where it was the privilege of my wife and me to be members for five years.

What is distinctive about these churches? What is it they have in common? I would list the following characteristics: (1) All of these churches emphasize content-rich, doctrinal, evangelistic, expository preaching. (2) Although they vary in style, their worship uses God-centered music that reaches both the mind and the emotions. (3) These churches are led by a plurality of elders, with a mixture of full-time, paid pastors and non-paid lay elders. (4) All of these churches have a passion for missions and evangelism. (5) All of them are Calvinistic in their soteriology. (6) All four churches have rich opportunities for adult education, in some cases even training for church leadership.

My heart’s desire for Beaver Baptist Church, where it is my privilege to be pastor, is a minstry that relies upon God in the faithful proclamation of the Gospel, both to win souls for Christ as well as progressively to conform these saints to the image of Christ. I know that there are other pastors and church leaders who desire the same thing. I believe we must encourage one another to remain faithful, and to help one another. We must do it for the sake of our churches. We must do it for sake of the church at large, demonstrating that there is an alternative to the modern church growth movement.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 at 7:20 pm and is filed under Church Life, Pastoral.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.