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Featured The Road Not Taken

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by TadQueasy, Jul 12, 2015.

  1. TadQueasy

    TadQueasy Member

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  2. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    Sorry, but my takeaway from this article was that churches that use modern techniques to teach and preach the gospel are not being faithful to their calling. Modern music - - bad. Hymn books- - good. Large churches - - bad. Small churches - - good. Large churches - - don't know and obey the word. Small churches - - know and obey the word.

    From the article :
    * The problem is that making quantitative, numeric metrics of success does not measure up to what the Bible says in regards to our objectives.*
    ----

    The Bible is full of numeric outcomes. I understand where the author is coming from - - some churches live and die by numbers but it doesn't have to be that way. Unfortunately, the author states that large churches and faithful Christians are mutually exclusive. This is wrong.
     
  3. TadQueasy

    TadQueasy Member

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    You took away from the article what you wanted. That was not the authors point.
     
  4. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    The author's point is that churches should be true to the Word (only) and not get caught up in numbers. He definitely says large churches cannot be true to the Word. I reject that.

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
     
  5. TadQueasy

    TadQueasy Member

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    Can you share with me the quote where the author says this?
     
  6. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    "Now I know what some might be thinking at this point: “Can’t it be both? Can’t you seek Kingdom Growth through church growth and at the same time have the foremost desire to obey the dogma of the Bible?” The answer is, in Frost’s vernacular, “Sorry, you cannot travel both.”
     
  7. TadQueasy

    TadQueasy Member

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    Sorry that in no way says that large churches cannot be true to the Word.
     
  8. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    In the context of what was said prior to that .....yes it does.
     
  9. TadQueasy

    TadQueasy Member

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    No, try again.
     
  10. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    Don't have too.
     
  11. TadQueasy

    TadQueasy Member

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    Just say you don't have a quote. No need to beat around the bush.
     
  12. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    I don't have the patience to explain to you why 1+1=2 tonight. I will leave you to it.
     
  13. TadQueasy

    TadQueasy Member

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    Wise move considering you have no leg to stand on.

    Have a good evening.
     
  14. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    What Revmitchell said.

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
     
  15. TadQueasy

    TadQueasy Member

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    I see you have nothing either.
    Thats too bad you two are missing a good article
     
  16. righteousdude2

    righteousdude2 Well-Known Member
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    Matthew 7:13-14 says it best. Although I love this poem! There are definitely 2 roads, and I think you and I know that a lot of folks are not really on the Narrow Path, even though they think they are! To much religion and and not enough relationship!
     
  17. Rolfe

    Rolfe Well-Known Member
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    That is how I understood it.
     
  18. JonC

    JonC Moderator
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    That's not how I understood the article at all. I think that the author is looking at the focus of the church (on increasing numbers vs faithfulness to the Word), not at the results of that focus (as God grows these "faithful churches" and not man). I would have described the difference as being between preaching Scripture and developing a marketing strategy. One relies on pragmatic methods while the other tries to be obedient (regardless of "church growth.")

    There are comments that make me lean towards the conclusion that the author is speaking of motivation and not size of a church:

    “These churches are typically (but not always) small, and, as far as the world is concerned, they usually lack in influence.”

    "Our joy doesn’t rise and fall from the ebb and flow of earthly success. Our lives are enriched and full of identity and meaning when we reject pragmatism and simply seek to know, obey, and proclaim His Word."

    "Like most of you reading, I have found little success at times when I’m working for it the hardest; and I’ve stumbled into great success when I’ve done absolutely nothing."

    I attend a very pragmatic church and have often thought of leaving. Church (for me and my family) is in the small group setting and not the weekly show. So my understanding of the article may be colored by my own experience.
     
    #18 JonC, Jul 13, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 13, 2015
  19. Iconoclast

    Iconoclast Well-Known Member
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    This issue is going to around for quite awhile.It triggers several thoughts along the spectrum.:wavey:

    There are many small churches that are dead and the people do not know it. They will tell you that they are small because people do not want the truth.

    This might indeed be true...or maybe the people are not friendly ,or obedient to the one another passages in scripture.

    In some small works the people might want to do more but be old and feeble.
    In some the pastor might be to domineering.

    For the most part very large churches are unfaithful in many things.
    It gets disguised by so many flesh pleasing activities.
    it would be nice if there was more of a blend...but fleshly people do not like to hold the line. They like compromise instead.Sometimes they do not know what the line is...or they would not be draw to the flesh pleasing activities to begin with.

    The both sets or kinds of churches will defend what they do of course, but so do scoundrels and cults.

    In a larger church faithful people can be squashed by the pressure of the fleshly multitude.
     
  20. Don

    Don Well-Known Member
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    Tad - two quotes from the article that support ITL and Rev's conclusion:

    The implication is that for the bigger church, the focus is on making it even bigger; while for the smaller church, the focus is on taking the road less traveled. The further implication is that the bigger church will always look to be bigger.

    Again, the author conveys the idea that bigger churches sacrifice biblical doctrine for those things that help make the church bigger.

    Just my two cents.
     
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