The Gospel-Driven Church
Uniting Church Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace
Jared C. Wilson
- Many
- evangelical
- churches
- face
- the
- problem
- of
- the
- open
- "back
- door"--even
- as
- new
- people
- arrive,
- older
- members
- are
- leaving,
- looking
- for
- something
- else.
- Combined
- with
- this
- problem
- is
- the
- discipleship
- deficit,
- the
- difficult
- truth
- that
- most
- evangelicals
- are
- not
- reaching
- the
- unchurched
- at
- the
- rates
- they
- think
- they
- are.
- In
- fact,
- many
- of
- the
- metrics
- that
- we
- often
- "count"
- in
- the
- church
- to
- highlight
- success
- really
- don't
- tell
- us
- the
- full
- story
- of
- a
- church's
- spiritual
- state.
- Things
- like
- attendance,
- decisions,
- dollars,
- and
- experiences
- can
- tell
- us
- something
- about
- a
- church,
- but
- not
- everything.To
- cultivate
- a
- spiritually
- healthy
- church
- we
- need
- a
- shift
- in
- our
- metrics--a
- "grace-shift"
- that
- prioritizes
- the
- work
- of
- God
- in
- the
- lives
- of
- people
- over
- numbers
- and
- dollars.
- Are
- people
- growing
- in
- their
- esteem
- for
- Jesus?
- Is
- there
- a
- dogged
- devotion
- to
- the
- Bible
- as
- the
- ultimate
- authority
- for
- life?
- Is
- there
- a
- growing
- interest
- in
- theology
- and
- doctrine?
- A
- discernible
- spirit
- of
- repentance?
- And
- perhaps
- most
- importantly,
- is
- there
- evident
- love
- for
- God
- and
- for
- our
- neighbors
- in
- the
- congregation?Leading
- a
- church
- culture
- to
- shift
- from
- numerical
- success
- to
- the
- metrics
- of
- grace
- can
- be
- costly,
- but
- leaders
- who
- have
- conviction,
- courage,
- and
- commitment
- can
- lead
- while
- avoiding
- some
- of
- the
- landmines
- that
- often
- destroy
- churches.
- Wilson
- includes
- diagnostic
- questions
- that
- will
- help
- leaders
- measure--and
- lead
- team
- transparency
- in
- measuring
- as
- a
- group--the
- relative
- spiritual
- health
- of
- their
- church,
- as
- well
- as
- a
- practical
- prescriptive
- plan
- for
- implementing
- this
- metric-measuring
- strategy
- without
- becoming
- legalistic.Most
- attractional
- church
- models
- can
- lean
- heavily
- on
- making
- changes
- to
- the
- weekend
- worship
- gatherings.
- And
- while
- some
- of
- these
- changes
- can
- be
- good,
- thriving
- grace-focused
- churches
- are
- driven
- by
- a
- commitment
- to
- the
- gospel,
- allowing
- the
- gospel
- to
- inform
- and
- shape
- the
- worship
- service
- and
- the
- various
- ministries
- of
- the church.
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