This post is really about planning for growth, but in reality we don’t know much about that – we’re much better at planning for failure.
“Our current system is perfectly designed to see the results we are currently achieving” (Alan Hirsch)
So if we want to see the church continue its steady decline into oblivion, we’re on the right track.
This blog post is interesting, saying similar things to what I’ve been posting about in the last couple of months:
What might church growth look like post-Christendom?
Three things at least are clear to me –
1. For the church to groow, as I have already written several times, we must change our order of priorities from:
Worship – Fellowship – Mission
to
Mission – Community – Worship
2. For the church to grow, the primary role of clergy (in my Anglican context) must be to empower lay leadership.
3. For the church to grow, we must put discipleship at the heart of church life.
The discipleship model that I have been most influenced by is here
and here
And most recently, seeing this as a great resource for exploring Jesus’ teaching in a very non-religious way
Grace and Peace
Five Short Words 