Lately it seems that almost every day I’m getting asked the same question and giving the same answer.
Here’s the question: How do we bring what we experience today as church into line with what God has laid out in the Bible?
The unexpressed assumption behind the question is that something important is missing.
I go back to the account of the first church at the end of Acts 2, and also to what a small group of young people I led tried to do in starting a church in north-eastern England forty years ago.
The only resources we had was the pooled faith and commitment present within our midst. We had no money and no real plan, although we did have a wise older overseer who saved us from a lot of mistakes. In spite of our lack, God blessed that church immeasurably, and used it to plant numerous other congregations and bring many people into his kingdom, and he is still using it to this day.
We built the church on four foundations:
The Word. I am involved in an online teaching platform. One of the uniform complaints we get is from young adults who want much deeper teaching than they are getting. Too many churches are dumbing down the preaching in the delusion that people want less of it, not more. If we don’t start laying down doctrine, the garbage that’s in the world around us will sweep us away.
The Spirit. We have spent far too much time arguing about the Holy Spirit and far too little time seeking his presence. He is the agent of unity, not division. Those who argue more than seek are divisive. Don’t listen to them. The Holy Spirit is God on earth. The church cannot exist without him at its centre.
Community. Our whole society is a mile wide and an inch deep. Too many churches are nothing more than a reflection of the secular culture around them. Let’s stop running after numbers and start building community. The numbers will come. The church is supposed to be the most relational place on earth. If it isn’t, there’s something drastically wrong.
Mission. Whatever happened to the evangelists? We desperately need them. In one sense, the church exists for the sake of those outside it. Maybe we need to import help from the rest of the world where the church is exploding. They have a lot to teach us.
That’s my manifesto. I’ve been preaching it for decades and I’m not going to stop.
Obey God’s Word. It works.
CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH DAVID & ELAINE CAMPBELL IN HELPING TO SUSTAIN THEIR ACTIVE MINISTRY.
AWAKENING MINISTRIES // FOUNDATION of FAITH Project
Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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