What makes a Church Great?

As I was reading the book of Acts, I was struck by the word “great,” in describing the early church—‘great’ power, ‘great’ grace, ‘great’ fear, and ‘great’ joy (Acts 4:33; 5:11: 8:8).  The Greek word is “mega,” a prefix used in English: megahertz, megabucks, megacorporation, and, significantly, megachurch. The words describing the early church all denote quality. Power, grace, fear, or joy are not quantifiable, very unlike the ‘great’  or mega churches of our day, quantified by their superior numbers.

Is the megachurch a sign of the times? Are they not in danger of becoming like ‘big box stores’ that attract a consumer-driven, bargain-hunting crowd, while driving small churches out of business? More importantly, are they making disciples? After all, how many sheep can a shepherd shepherd? The opportunity for making disciples has to be ‘greater’ in churches with less than 100 (60% of U.S. churches) than 10,000. And wouldn’t that make small churches “great?” To you who are pastors of small churches today, be encouraged by God's words to Zerubbabel, “Do not despise the day of small things” (Zech. 4:10). Small things can be great!

"The Church of What’s Happening Now”

As the star of a successful variety show 40 years ago, Flip Wilson created a recurring skit playing the character Reverend Leroy, minister of the “Church of What's Happening Now!” His church, although otherwise quite unsanctified, was aptly named as an expression of relevancy for the 70’s generation.

Today, in the spirit of relevance, churches design services to be less assaulting to un-churched persons—lighting, music style, and technology meld together for a sensory experience. Dan Kimball of the Vintage Church says, “While the seeker-friendly era was successful in bringing a generation of baby-boomers to Jesus, that time is past. Now we need to find new methods that will reach this new generation."

The new churches keep things chill, friendly, entertaining, avoiding anything that would scare people away. But will "The Church of What's Happening Now" be one that keeps His word, honors His name, and stands up for sound doctrine without compromise? Certainly, the goal of each new generation is to communicate the Gospel in a way that can be understood by theirs. The challenge ahead for them is in refusing to compromise with the culture, that is, making changes while still making disciples.

Covered in Jesus' Dust

Yesterday, I was blessed again to give the Sunday morning message. You won’t be surprised to hear that my theme was discipleship: pointing out that when Jesus called people, they had to get “out of the box.” Getting out of the box means leaving behind your assumptions and expectations, even comfort and safety—it involves risk.

The more I study discipleship, the more I wonder whether we 21st century Americans have truly grasped its meaning. To be chosen by a rabbi in Jesus’ day was the highest honor bestowed on a young man. When a Rabbi said, "Come, Follow me,” there was an old Jewish saying that said to follow a rabbi was to "be covered with the dust of his feet." When Jesus said, "Come and follow me,” the disciples knew exactly what he meant. It was the Hebrew custom to walk very close to your rabbi or teacher so that you could learn of his ways in every area of life. Following so close, you would wear his dust.

After awhile, a disciple would begin to look like and act like his Rabbi. In the same way, Jesus' disciples are meant to be conformed to His image. People should look at us and see Jesus. Can we even call ourselves disciples if we are not covered in His dust?

Make Disciples, Not Decisions

At the end of every TV program, Joel Osteen gives his viewers an opportunity to ‘say’ a prayer and ‘accept’ Christ as savior. Some will see this as a good thing, but there is no call to repentance or obedience—nor a call to discipleship. But to be fair, Joel is not alone in this “just say a prayer” thing.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference in how we evangelize today versus the way Jesus did. You see, the real danger is in people thinking they are born again because they said a prayer. According to Christian pollster George Barna less than 10% of American Evangelicals live their lives like Biblical Christians. But over 60% have said some sort of "salvation prayer" and think they are saved because of it. Does that mean the other 50% think they are saved but are not?

Even Billy Graham doubted that everyone who said a "salvation prayer" was saved: “I don't believe any man can come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit has prepared his heart. And I don't believe any man can come to Christ unless God draws him. My job is to proclaim the message. It's the Holy Spirit's job to do the work.” D. L. Moody expressed it well: "Make disciples, not decisions."

Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; the decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21 NIV, NLT) And even more pointedly, “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Mat 10:38).

“Face Time” Discipleship

[Today's post is part two of yesterday’s “In Your Face"]

In Jesus’ final moment with His followers, He commissioned them to “make disciples” (Mat. 28:19). And that is what the New Testament church did: “admonishing and teaching every man…to present every man complete in Christ” (Col. 1:28). Following Jesus’ “discipleship model,” the early believers knew making disciples had to be personal and relational—involving lots of “Face Time.”

When Jesus thought about His Body, the Church, do you think he envisioned large auditoriums where people would come for an hour each week, sitting in long rows of chairs facing a stage? To their detriment, large numbers of Christians have no spiritual connection other than “attending” a church service once a week. They have no connection to their pastor, no significant personal relationship with another—they are not getting any one's “Face Time.”

Jesus did envision small groups of people having “face time” with Him and with one another. He said, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" (Matt. 18:20). We should not be surprised that Jesus spoke of small gatherings—even as few as two or three— since disciple-making is so individual.

Our mega-churches may be packing people into the pews, but unless they are also making disciples, they have fallen short of the Great Commission. And if you are not in a personal, vital “face time” relationship with a younger believer, neither are you. But it’s not too late to right this wrong. Ask the Lord to show you someone in your sphere who needs your “face time.”