Foreword: reason for lack of ministry effectiveness: churches have become self-centered; objective: not to see small ingrown churches become large ingrown churches but move away from self-centeredness

I. Where Missionary Life Begins

1. THE INGROWN CHURCH LEADER: God’s Call to Faith and Repentance: church leader called to be pacesetter (runner in race who moves ahead of the pack and sets the example); example: jetliner diving to earth, 3 out of 4 engines not working -> need to start the engine immediately; evidence of ingrown church: lack of zeal for outreach; soul-searching questions: “Is God working in your life? Are you repenting? Are you building your life on Christ’s free justification and your sonship in Him or are you loaded down with inward guilt? Have you ever done a single thing because you love Jesus? Or stopped doing anything because you love Him?”; church growth not inspired by faith in Christ is dangerous; sign; elementary principles of faith that motivate qualitative and quantitative church growth: 1) regular and thorough meditation on the promises of God, 2) ongoing repentance based on the intense study of Scripture, 3) continual personal and corporate prayer, 4) daring gospel communication and discipling, 5) mobilizing every member’s gifts for Christ’s mission to the world, 6) each congregation working to plant daughter churches; reason of failure: lost contact with risen Christ as source of spiritual life; seeking personal comfort is not wrong in itself but it shouldn’t become the primary reason for the existence of the local church (otherwise it becomes a religious cushion); promises: not just predictive prophecy applied either to past or future events but believing is present and is a continuous channel for receiving grace moment by moment (“rivers of living waters” from those who “keep believing” Jn 7:37-39) -> release from self-dependence; for God being filled with the Spirit is the norm both for Christians and churches; threat to modern congregations: faith redirected to past or human resources rather than to the promises of God; I freely acknowledge my need to resist my own defeatism and hourly need to claim God’s promises by faith; call to radical commitment: to believe Christ’s promises and to do his will at all costs;

2. THE INGROWN CHURCH: God’s Call to Faith and Repentance: like persons, local churches are sometimes introvertive [is being an introvert sinful?]; introverted church members resist the will of the King expressed by His missionary mandate; two sides of missionary command: 1) go and disciple (impossible task) 2) promise from Jesus to be with us as we obey the command (power to do the impossible task); talk to church officers personally, ask questions: “what do you think about our church? what are its essential features? do you see us like the church described in Acts or Thessalonica? do you grow spiritually? have you repented of any sins lately?”; marks ingrown church: 1) tunnel vision (unbelief in God’s power, acceptance of stagnation and decline as normal, indifference to the peril of the lost) 2) shared sense of group superiority (focus on positive feature that elevates church above others, unconscious elitist attitude) 3) extreme sensitivity to negative human opinion (timidity in face of opposition; refusal to accept suffering and unpopularity) 4) niceness in tone (nice is just another way of being safe) 5) Christian soap opera in style (series of endlessly repeated conversations, gossip is a sign of shortage of real love, if you criticize others in the church you are really attacking yourself because we are one body in Christ) 6) confused leadership roles (fear of change, no room for biblical zeal of ancient prophets and apostles) 7) misdirected purpose (survival instead of growth, visitors receive only formal welcome and smile without the heart, danger of turning church programs into worship); we cannot change unless we know where we are and where we should be; honesty about our aversion to God’s purpose is most important ingredient in repentance;

   II. Getting Our Missionary Identity Straight

3. THE LOCAL CHURCH: Its Missionary Character: key weakness in introverted church: unbelieving timidity of members; commitment to principle: gospel can change anyone who will take it to heart; 1Pt 2:9-10: basic nature of the church: 1) God-possessed 2) God-separated (church belongs to a holy God -> sanctified by His presence, distinguished from the world) 3) God-accepted; nature of the church: not to serve itself, but God; church is not servant of the world (Colin Williams) or a community of revolutionary action (Gustavo Guiterrez); purpose of the church: glorify God in the world, confront the world’s darkness with the gospel; welcomed two women “hopeless cases” into their home, give their lives to Christ in response to Jack’s soul-searching questions; two changes in liturgy: 1) opportunity for recent converts to give testimony 2) sharing pastoral prayer with men; example from Anglican Church in India: smallest diocese became largest under bishop Vednayakam Samuel Azariah

4. THE LOCAL CHURCH: Its Missionary Authority: marks of the church: “more than preaching sound doctrine, pure administration of sacraments and practice of church discipline” (cf. confessions); missionary mandate: not just sending missionaries into the harvest field, entire church is a “sent church” -> we are all commissioned; Mt 28:18-20: 1) Enthronement Proclamation (cf. Dan 7:14) 2) Task Commanded and Defined (“disciple”: not just to get “decisions” but seeking to live in obedience to the Lord; God’s saving program includes large number of “elect” who are not exactly “elite”; advice from Donald McGavran: Presbyterians’ tendency toward elitism, focusing on the culturally “washed” rather than the “unwashed”, little practical confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit -> tendency to be timid; Ralph Winter: “nations” refer to people groups, includes “enemies” too) 3) Promise of Power; reason for passivity: weakness of faith -> divine solution to ingrownness & impotence: recovering faith; Acts: Stephen & Philip become pacesetters due to them being full of faith (Acts 6:5); gospel movement: result of prayer of the church (Acts 1-4);

   III. Uncovering the Sources of Missionary Power

5. THE LOCAL CHURCH: God’s Glory Its Missionary Motive: Hebrew word for “glory”: being “weighty” and thus “important” or “striking”; God’s glory is what “strikes” us -> it is the very opposite of commonplace; “the glory of God is the difference between what we would naturally be or do and what we are enabled to do by God’s grace”; example: Stephen (Acts 6-7), Henry Martyn (missionary to Muslims in Persia); steps to renewal: 1) be open to God’s vision for the local church 2) be honest about your sins and weaknesses 3) personalize your relationship with Christ (“I must see that the risen Lord has told me personally to go and disciple the nations for His glory.”; Martin Luther: Christian life consists in “personal pronouns”) 4) commit to express God’s glory in every part of your life and service (read about “glorified joy” in Jonathan Edwards but only experienced it after taking troubled people into their home; suggestion: pray ahead of pastoral prayer on Sundays); practical fruit: growth in courage;
6. THE WELCOMING LOCAL CHURCH: commissioned church is hospitable; easier to go overseas as “missionary” than to welcome neighbors; being friendly to each other != being friendly to visitors; doctrine of election can cancel out God’s character as a “welcoming God” and a hospitable father; God’s sovereignty can lead to indifference to the lost (~ Muslim doctrine of kismet, impersonal faith); Great Commission is not just for the pastor & specially trained people; elements of new life: 1) preaching the gospel clearly and boldly; focus on Christ instead of legalistic doing; 2) emphasize God’s welcoming person and grace during the worship service (eg songs focusing on Christ’s resurrection instead of merely our sins); 3) every organization within the church should be “outward facing”; deacons should plan to visit neglected members (sick, unemployed, imprisoned etc); 4) develop new programs to meet the need of the community

7. THE PRAYING LOCAL CHURCH: “who killed the prayer meeting?” -> “you!”; before: shallow & intellectual understanding of the Holy Spirit, being afraid of anything emotional or “spooky”; later: through studying the promises of God became desperately needy person (“shamelessly pushy” cf Lk 11:6-8); prayer with “shameless boldness” to God to equip us with 1) His self-forgetting love for others 2) His wisdom for praying specifically and intelligently 3) His boldness for prayer and risk-taking witness; function of prayer meeting: maintenance vs frontline; no one bothered to keep a record of prayers offered and answered <-> people came to the prayer meeting to be changed; desire to see the power of God (“thy kingdom come”), conditions: 1) faith/expectancy 2) oneness of purpose 3) authority 4) commitment; steps for building frontline prayer meetings: 1) become a better model yourself - in both private and corporate praying (cf. Effective Prayer by Charles H. Spurgeon) 2) deepen your knowledge of corporate prayer (study prayer in Luke & Acts) 3) talk with others informally about frontline praying; “In his seminars on prayer, David Bryant stresses that every human need ought to be related to the missionary vision of the Scriptures. For example, he says that a Christian may have a felt need to lose weight, but the prayer for strength to diet is not answered because the motivation is self-centered; the person wants to look better for his or her own sake. But let the person change the motivation and ask God for grace to lose weight so as to glorify Him by becoming a more attractive and wholesome witness to Christ; then, Bryant believes, such God-centered praying will prove to be more effective.”; 4) if you area pastor, become more public in your teaching about prayer; do not make radical changes, rather improve the quality; “You are in the toughest battle facing the Christian church. Prayer meetings constantly tend downward, to become either intellectualistic Bible studies or anxiety-sharing sessions where religious arguments break out. Christian people and their leaders are ready to do almost anything except get down to praying with power and authority in the name of Christ.”; praying for your pastor can be a great encouragement, be patient with him; you don’t have to be full of faith

   IV. Serving as God’s Missionary Leaders

8. THE PASTOR AS PACESETTER: opportunity of pastors: church members expect pastors to have a missionary zeal and will give at least nominal support; they are not surprised when a minister asks them questions about their spiritual state -> take advantage of this opportunity; example: author offered to stay and give spiritual guidance after church (-> consequence: rarely at home before 2pm, but the rewards are worth it); people commit to a church where they feel wanted; elders/deacons: invite them to go with pastor to visit new people during the week; study 1 & 2 Timothy to hear God’s standards for them and their work; if they still refuse to join try to find out the reason, after some instruction and loving support finally resign from the office; exhortation of nonfunctioning church leader is important (Heb 3:13) not just because of the church but for his own sake; however: more often the real obstacle is the fears of the pastor (fear of people, desire for human approval); kingdom of God can only grow through conflicts; overcome fear by zeal for the gospel; walking with Jesus, we will take on both his lamb like gentleness and lionlike courage; Spurgeon set George Whitefield’s life and ministry as a model; however, this zeal is expensive: it costs your life: “we can only produce life in others by the wear and tear of our own being”;

9. PREACHING BY FAITH: God’s Missionary Fire: mysterious aspect of preaching Christ by faith: Christ himself becomes present and speaks through a feeble human being; effective preaching often issues from painful struggle; it costs the preacher’s pride a great deal; goal of preaching: change people by the power of the gospel (not just to make an eloquent message); preaching: declaration of war, call hearers to surrender to Jesus; the gospel will renew anyone who receives it by faith; law of preaching: you get what you expect the gospel to do in lives; motivation behind pastoral inwardness: desire to win praise from the congregation; “We can often detect this idolatrous love of approval in the way ministers preach. Some come to the congregation Sunday morning like a timid defense attorney presenting a weak case to a hostile jury. Others approach the congregation as though it were an awards committee handing out Oscars for best performance. Either way it is a religious show in which the love of God is displaced by self-consciousness about people and their opinions.”; author recruited several hundred people to pray for him and his preaching every week; preaching must go beyond felt needs to address essential needs; adulterous couple ran away from church, returned after 10 days of earnest prayer, no repentance at first (claimed justification by faith as their right while holding on to their adulterous relationship) -> confused faith and presumption, later both repented and reconciled with their spouses

   V. Discovering God’s Missionary Strategies

10. EQUIPPING FOR THE HARVEST FIELD: pastor’s most crucial task: to equip others for service (Eph 4:12); hesitation: doesn’t it lead to elitism/jealousy?; theological error: two people’s of God (ordained pastors are the real ones); church tradition: pastor expected to do everything (fueled by pastor’s insecurity and longing for approval or fear that others will be better); simple cure: to realize that Christ is the head of the church, not the pastor; he still; elements of equipping: 1) teaching them the gospel 2) training them to use their spiritual gifts to serve Christ; John Stott: chief duty of pastor is teaching because chief duty of shepherds is feeding his sheep; goal: make them pacesetters; gospel message takes away guilt & gives assurance of Father’s unconditional acceptance; constantly hearing the good news makes missions and missionaries go; vision of divine love (Jn 3:16-17) equips believers to fulfill the Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20); study suggestions: Galatians (emphasis on God’s grace), 1&2 Timothy, John Stott: Our Guilty Silence; how to evaluate effectiveness of equipment?: willingness to reach out with the gospel to the “unwashed”; first check if person is “disciplable” (obedient); started Bible study in fast food restaurant with wild teenagers, many came to Christ, two became sons-in-law

    VI. Developing God’s Missionary Programs

11. OPENING A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY: Diaconal Witness: Donald McGavran: congregations flourish when “radiant personal faith” is combined with natural “bridges” eg family/friends; congregations can be mobilized too (eg fixing roof of widow); losing the gospel in social actions is a real danger but we must still have a corporate witness to our neighbors; deacons can be pacesetters for congregational witness; Cotton Mather (18th century): develop an eye for human need (“What good is there to be done?”); Christ = ‘deacon’ of the Jews (Rom 15:8); difficulties of diaconal ministry: paying back warm welcome with slander; responded to murder attempt with forgiveness; diaconal blindness: we forget how great our own sins are & feel superior to the people and us; hospitality ministry: Open Heart, Open Home by Karen Main;
12. SMALL GROUPS FOR OUTREACH: most effective way to implement welcoming vision: 1) deacons 2) small groups; potholes of small groups: exclusive focus on egocentric needs of troubled persons, lack of clear goals, members distancing from non-Christian friends; groups are effective only if each member is viewed as a worker of Christ, not a mere survivor; core elements of small groups (Wesley): 1) spiritual healing & release 2) worker mobilization 3) outreach action; small-group model: 1) growth model: group leaders should be committed to growth in numbers (both through assimilation of new church members & evangelism); alternative to growth: Dead Sea model (believers constantly drinking the truth but stagnating because they are not pouring out to others) 2) healing model: small group must provide pastoral care but must be more than counseling; establish reality of justification by faith and Christ’s present rule over our lives; tongue control (affirming and witnessing instead of slander and gossip) 3) worker model: The Cost of Commitment by John White; 4) missionary model: small groups are ideal for outreach but patient, natural evangelism (eg woman at the well) is more effective than direct approach (unless the person is already interested)

Epilogue: RISK OR RUST: pastors’ personality and churches may be different but core issues are similar; key question: do you have the courage of faith to think through the issues - to discern God’s will for your congregation?; need to choose between taking risk or rust where we are