I found this excerpt from the soon-to-be published book Transformational Church by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer to be a worthwhile read. I look forward to reading the entire book.We have spent the most of our adult lives as leaders serving churches. During those years, like many of you, we have watched God transform people with the power of the gospel. Transformation is at the heart of God's mission to humanity. He delights in moving us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light--and then empowering and directing us as agents of his kingdom. And He has chosen the church as His instrument in this world. We, the body of Christ, are God's chosen method to deliver the message of transformation to our neighbors both in the community and around the world. It is our mission.
But the story of many churches is not one of transformation. It is more of repetition or even stagnation. As leaders, we sometimes fool ourselves into thinking that the Merry-Go-Round approach to church is enough. Keep everyone moving, the lights bright, and the music happy and you will get no complaints. The big problem-- too few are making any headway. Rather than missionary disciples for Christ moving out into the world, we have a group of happy people going in circles.
God calls us to make a transformational impact on the world, not provide a carnival of frenetic activity for ourselves. But to do so, we must engage in His mission. And ministers and church leaders must move beyond entertaining the consumers to engaging Christ's mission.
