One of the joys God gives us is to meet new people. Our lives are made best by our relationships. It really isn't the places we go or the accomplishments we achieve. The excellence of our lives might be best measured by the friends we have.
Then we have a deeper joy. That is to help these new friends experience the love of God. They can see Him in us and maybe they begin to see the possibilities for themselves. This is known as the plan of God.
Why not meet some new people today?
Titus 3:4-5 (MSG)
4 But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in,
5 he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit.
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Salvation Army dialogue with the Territorial Commander of the Australia Southern Territory
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7 comments:
There are many events, activities and programs conducted by churches that would be of interest to outsiders.
What surprises me (on reflection) is that in attending a local church, not only did I not find out about the broader "program" of that church, but I never learnt about other events across the community of churches. It's as if whatever network of relationships operates inside the world of churches is not put into effective use for the purposes of increasing membership, evangelism, or to generally entrench the church into the community.
Now I can do my own research (and I do) to discover what the church is doing in the city in which I live. But not every event is published or "discoverable" through this process.
Why does the church continue to operate like a closed shop? It continually talks about "reaching the lost", but the very approaches it uses (or does not use) are counter-productive to this goal.
As I have said in a previous post, my "investigation" into the world of church (in Melbourne, Australia) will come to an end. Mainly because it is a fruitless and tiring activity to be continually presented with obstacles and roadblocks when trying to "break into" a church.
I am happy to concede defeat and declare the insular, inward-looking church the winner in this process. You can have your cosy little belief-club where believing must come before belonging. And for those of us who think that behaving, in the sense of what we can do for others, is of primary importantance above believing and belonging, would these people just shut up and accept the status-quo.
After all your beliefs are the correct ones. It's everyone else who is in the wrong.
I'm happy to be told to **** off.
David,
Your comments are thought provoking and more accurate than I want them to be. It may seem obvious to you as to what to do with such conclusions. Leaving it here in discovery is less than satisfying. What would you do?
David,
As an officer I have always encouraged people to belong, to participate in activities, without the necessity of them being a soldier (member). I have seen people come to belief because they have been encouraged to belong. But mind you, this has not been easy as I have had to endure opposition from members. I stood firm in my belief that we must be open to whosoever and have seen the fruits! I know I am not the only officer who has encouraged people to belong before belief.
Officer
The real problem is not with people like me. I'm part of a fading minority who once had an attachment with the church, left and have looked in again after some years absence.
It doesn't really matter how you manage the process of attracting, recruiting, evangelising (call it what you will). And I see from obvservation that churches are experimenting with different styles of service and "cultural expressions" with the usual conflict between paying respect to the past and looking to the future. From what I see, the Salvos are doing this at least as well as anyone else, and they're certainly more sophisticated about it than the pentecostals. No need for me to comment on the appropriateness of a hierarchical structure versus a bottom up push for change, I think you can have both.
The real problem is the vanishing cultural significance of Christianity in Australia (and other places).
However the church does have in its possession a valuable commodity that is in increasingly short supply in the world. A commodity that may prevent it from fading away altogether. It's community - the nature and operation of Christian community has no real equivalent in society, apart from other faith communities.
If I was looking into a crystal ball, I would say that the level of conflict between nations and groups will increase. There are many indicators of this - peak oil, the economy, the spread of (political) Islam, diminishing/spoilt natural resources (water), climate change, to name some.
This conflict will generate (as it usually does) an increase in interest in the church and other faiths. Why not prepare for it now? Capitalise on community.
David, you are dead set right... I agree. community is what it is all about, and some of us(officers) are trying it, maybe you wil be lucky(blessed) enough to find our church one day.. but that doesnt mean we've nailed it, we are just trying... community is loaded with all kinds of people and that requires all of us in that community to be patient and understanding as we each do the journey, I pray your journey may lead to us.
an officer
I read with gentle interest the dialogue between "David" and the Territorial Commander of the Southern Territory, I muse that the spiritual and secular are not always mutually compatible but find a fathers assurance to me in the words :
ACTS 5:38,39 – "And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."
Our father God knows and understands and gives me great Joy as daily I see the very treasures of heaven in clay pots.I would encourage Salvationist to be the carriers of the balm of Gilead, on a personal note though may I with respect say that if a site such as this is public then an open response is public so it should be very clear who the open response is directed too, there are sadly those within the Salvation Army who find a strange comfort in the presumed pain of their brothers.
David Barnett
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