For the church to be an influence in the world, as well as to be faithful to Scripture, it has to function as a team. It has to have the four characteristics of a team that we talked about yesterday in Part 1.
Now, a football team won't do any good if you show up wearing the uniform, committing to winning, etc. You can't just send a team out on the field as if by showing up they will experience victory. You have to show the team how to win.
In football, winning could be defined as "scoring more points than your opponent." So, in order to win, we have to score points.
In the church, it is essential that the people that are part of the congregation know how to win. I would imagine that most of the people that darken the doors of our churches Sunday mornings have no idea what it means for the church to win. They don't know how the church wins, they don't know when the church wins . . . heck, they probably don't even know that the church is SUPPOSED to win. That's when leadership comes in and defines how to win for the church.
At Catalyst, the definition of our win is "Build the Body, Change the World." That's how we win. When the Body of Christ is built up, and the world is changed, we know we've scored more points than our opponent. We've won.
Great. However, the problem is that our football team knows it has to score points, but how? Well, in football, you score one of five ways:
1) You run the ball into the end zone.
2) You throw the ball into the end zone to a receiver.
3) You kick an extra point or go for a two-point conversion.
4) You kick a field goal.
5) You tackle the opposing team in their own end zone for a safety.
Once the football team knows how to win, you have to tell them how to score points. The same is true of the church- we know that in order to win, we have to Build the Body, Change the World. How do we do THAT?
For the church, we have defined four ways to score:
1) Salvation- bringing non-Christian people to a saving relationship with Christ.
2) Community- doing life together in small groups that meet weekly.
3) Training- moving people towards spiritual maturity.
4) Ministry- setting people loose to make an eternal difference in the world.
Once the church knows how to win, and also knows how to score in order to win, it can truly function as a team. No team wants to lose. All teams want to win. The church is no different. The church should be racking up wins right and left, because not only do we have the truth of God but we also have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit behind us and in front of us.
The problem is that the church may have the players on the field, but they don't know how to score and don't know how to win. Because they don't realize they are part of a team, church members then fall back into country club mode where they totally forget about winning, forget about scoring, forget about the competition/war we are in with Satan, and just get their butts kicked every day. We are in a war, and one side definitely knows it. Does the other side, the church, know it?
I challenge the pastors who read this blog to begin transforming your church from a country club to a team, unless you are already functioning as a team. I challenge the Christians who read this blog to stop thinking of their church as a country club and start thinking about being part of a team that is challenged to win. How different would your Sunday morning experience be if you saw yourself gearing up for competition instead of attending a lecture or a show?
The body of Christ is a team. Let's start winning.
Now, a football team won't do any good if you show up wearing the uniform, committing to winning, etc. You can't just send a team out on the field as if by showing up they will experience victory. You have to show the team how to win.
In football, winning could be defined as "scoring more points than your opponent." So, in order to win, we have to score points.
In the church, it is essential that the people that are part of the congregation know how to win. I would imagine that most of the people that darken the doors of our churches Sunday mornings have no idea what it means for the church to win. They don't know how the church wins, they don't know when the church wins . . . heck, they probably don't even know that the church is SUPPOSED to win. That's when leadership comes in and defines how to win for the church.
At Catalyst, the definition of our win is "Build the Body, Change the World." That's how we win. When the Body of Christ is built up, and the world is changed, we know we've scored more points than our opponent. We've won.
Great. However, the problem is that our football team knows it has to score points, but how? Well, in football, you score one of five ways:
1) You run the ball into the end zone.
2) You throw the ball into the end zone to a receiver.
3) You kick an extra point or go for a two-point conversion.
4) You kick a field goal.
5) You tackle the opposing team in their own end zone for a safety.
Once the football team knows how to win, you have to tell them how to score points. The same is true of the church- we know that in order to win, we have to Build the Body, Change the World. How do we do THAT?
For the church, we have defined four ways to score:
1) Salvation- bringing non-Christian people to a saving relationship with Christ.
2) Community- doing life together in small groups that meet weekly.
3) Training- moving people towards spiritual maturity.
4) Ministry- setting people loose to make an eternal difference in the world.
Once the church knows how to win, and also knows how to score in order to win, it can truly function as a team. No team wants to lose. All teams want to win. The church is no different. The church should be racking up wins right and left, because not only do we have the truth of God but we also have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit behind us and in front of us.
The problem is that the church may have the players on the field, but they don't know how to score and don't know how to win. Because they don't realize they are part of a team, church members then fall back into country club mode where they totally forget about winning, forget about scoring, forget about the competition/war we are in with Satan, and just get their butts kicked every day. We are in a war, and one side definitely knows it. Does the other side, the church, know it?
I challenge the pastors who read this blog to begin transforming your church from a country club to a team, unless you are already functioning as a team. I challenge the Christians who read this blog to stop thinking of their church as a country club and start thinking about being part of a team that is challenged to win. How different would your Sunday morning experience be if you saw yourself gearing up for competition instead of attending a lecture or a show?
The body of Christ is a team. Let's start winning.
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