More Missional and Less Consumeristic
The consumer-Christian will not survive in the next ten years. You might ask, “What is a Consumer-Christian?” In our church, it is the person who “church shops” for a church that meets his needs. Church is all about them. When the church doesn’t work for them anymore, they shop for another one.
As the inevitable persecution of Christians increases, going to church won’t be something we do to feel good about ourselves. Instead of thinking church exists for us, we’ll remember that we are the church, and we exist for the world.
The consumeristic-Christian (if they are truly believers) will either become fully committed to Christ or they will fall away. Those remaining will become mission-minded.
The future church will be made up of believers who:
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Are sick of living in material comfort while millions starve to death.
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Make money to give more than to consume.
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Believe in the power of prayer and fasting.
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Are willing to suffer for the cause of Christ.
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Will be engaged in missions both locally and internationally.
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See it as their role to lead people to Christ.
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See it as their role to help people in need.
I believe that things in our country will need to become increasingly bad for the Church to wake up and be the Church. Unfortunately, I think things will get worse. But the good news is that the Church will get better.
More Diversity and More Unity
The future church will become simultaneously diversified and unified.
We live in a global, diversified, integrated, flat world.
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A thirteen year old in rural Kansas might have a best friend in Seoul Korea.
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My mentor might be a minister in Africa that I’ve never met in person.
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You might live in Mumbal, India and your prayer partner lives in Madrid, Spain. Your avatar (which is really you) might lead more people to Christ from Thailand than you do in your classroom at school.
My hope is that our ministry is less white, less local, less suburban, less American and more Black, more Hispanic, more Canadian, more European, more Asian, more African, and more Australian.
A few things that will be increasingly important include:
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Speaking a second (or third, or seventh) language.
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Experiencing people in extreme poverty.
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Traveling around the world while still serving in our own inner cities.
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Developing cross cultural friendships.
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Preparing our children (or letting them prepare us) with a global perspective.
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Experiencing the Gospel at work in different parts of the world.
Our approaches to ministry must be less Americanized (or wherever you live) and become more globalized.
As we’re diversified, we’ll be more unified. We’ll be bound together, not by our past, our culture, our education system, but instead by our faith in Christ.
It will be easier to work together. It will be more critical to work together. It is imperative that we work together.
How do you see your ministry becoming more diversified and unified?
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