All organisations wrestle with motivation. And the start of a new year is a good time to offer some new inspiration and momentum to the church.
In speaking about motivation I am implicitly adopting a model of the local church which assumes it has work to do.
We can think of this work as three-dimensional — the IOU picture of the church. Inwardly — to build one another up. Outwardly — to reach out to the lost. Upwardly — to serve God in worship. These three must be kept in balance. But, in particular, we need to give priority to the outward. Evangelism easily slips down the list.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church …