"will programs get us there"
Satellite
oct 15

Recap of the vision for our church:

100 fold church-
Matthew 13:1-23
We desire to be a group of people whose heart is penetrated by GOD’s word
And in turn, multiply-not 30x, not 50x, but 100x
Externally focused/Kingdom minded-
Matthew 25:14-30
GOD is in the business for a profit
We cannot be Kingdom minded if we aren’t externally focused
Bold in Truth and Abounding in Grace
Matthew 13:44-46
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Socially Concerned and Culturally Transforming
Matthew 25:31-46
Sheep and goats
The culture will be transformed when we become socially engaged!


So what now? What does this do for us? What do you remember from these messages?


What’s our response to this? Are these just new catchphrases for us to use? Are we going to drop these phrases into our vocabulary and use them in conversations to make us feel better?
Or maybe we can create some new programs: we could have “the 100 fold church ministry,” or the “bold in truth and abounding in grace hour.” That seems to be the quick answer for the modern church. “We’ll just create a program that fits our new image.” If this sounds like a good idea, well, I’ve got bad news for you: We can’t program our way into becoming this vision. We cannot put programs in place to make us become these visions for who we desire to be. It doesn’t work that way. There aren’t 12 steps that can get us there. If people could “program” their way to transformation then shouldn’t this country visibly be a “nation under GOD?” I don’t intend to be political here, but what I’m saying is that in this country we have the greatest resources and programs for “being a Christian” in the world, yet the United States doesn’t have the largest churches in the world. In fact the US has a shrinking church growth rate. Check out barna.org if you want some stats.

We’ve adopted a “if we build it they will come” model for ministry believes if we have the biggest and best building then people will flock to the church. There are even statistics that say that within the first year of a new church being built in an area there will be “x%” of growth in the church attendance. Churches look at those numbers and say “if we just build a new building then this many new people will come to our church. The same people who give those statistics will be quick to say that the growth that happens because of a building is not the kind of growth that lasts. If we are going to keep people in our new church building we’ll need to entertain them. So we start programs after program to entertain people. Our programs are filled with bright lights, loud noises, and shiny people.





What “programs” have you seen put into place that is supposed to be the next big thing?
Why don’t you think they work?



It seems easier to establish something outside of ourselves, rather than desire change within us. This isn’t a new problem. People have been putting their trust and expectations in programming for years. Don’t hear me say that programs are evil. I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that programs cannot fix anything, what they do is allow people an opportunity to change. Look at family life. Family game night doesn’t automatically make a family love each other.





Satellite programs-
• Sunday nights
• HomeTeams
• one:twentyseven
• Engage
• Emerge

Allow us a place to meet those around us, take the Gospel to them, and show the GOD who can transform their life.


If we focus on the program we loose of Christ.

Isaiah 58- fasting
Joel 2:13-14-mourning
Galatians 5:6-circumscision