Tuesday, January 26, 2010

How to Wreck Your Church in Three Weeks

The above link to the below blog post will reveal that this post has been pulled from Ray Ortlund's blog over at the Gospel Coalition. I hope it's just temporary because I found it to be one of the most timely and insightful blog posts I've read in a long time.

I'm going to post it in its entirety here, but you should check out Mr. Ortlund's blog, it's quite good.
Here's his now missing post:

How to wreck your church in three weeks

Week One: Walk into church today and think about how long you’ve been a member, how much you’ve sacrificed, how under-appreciated you are. Take note of every way you’re dissatisfied with your church now. Take note of every person who displeases you.

Meet for coffee this week with another member and “share your heart.” Discuss how your church is changing, how you are being left out. Ask your friend who else in the church has “concerns.” Agree together that you must “pray about it.”

Week Two: Send an email to a few other “concerned” members. Inform them that a groundswell of grievance is surfacing in your church. Problems have gone unaddressed for too long. Ask them to keep the matter to themselves “for the sake of the body.”

As complaints come in, form them into a petition to demand an accounting from the leaders of the church. Circulate the petition quietly. Gathering support will be easy. Even happy members can be used if you appeal to their sense of fairness – that your side deserves a hearing. Be sure to proceed in a way that conforms to your church constitution, so that your petition is procedurally correct.

Week Three: When the growing moral fervor, ill-defined but powerful, reaches critical mass, confront the elders with your demands. Inform them of all the woundedness in the church, which leaves you with no choice but to put your petition forward. Inform them that, for the sake of reconciliation, the concerns of the body must be satisfied.

Whatever happens from this point on, you have won. You have changed the subject in your church from gospel advance to your own grievances. To some degree, you will get your way. Your church will need three or four years for recovery. But at any future time, you can do it all again. It only takes three weeks.

Just one question. Even if you are being wronged, “Why not rather suffer wrong?” (1 Corinthians 6:7).

Thursday, January 21, 2010

This is Making the Rounds...

... so I thought I'd jump on the interwebs bandwagon. The message is excellent because it is true - but not true of all messages! :-)


Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.



Hit the Link in the Title for more animation from Ronnie Bruce.

For more poetry from Taylor Malin: Go Here

I could hat tip this from about 25 places, so nobody gets credit. Boast in the Lord!
;-)