I have no real issues with the ten things listed, but I believe it leaves out some essential elements - like the GREAT COMMISSION and the GREAT COMMANDMENT!
To me, this article is too fluffy, too feel good and way too safe.
I guess it is because I am currently reading The Insanity of God, by Nik Ripken, which is filled with testimonies of Christians around the world living in persecuted places, but I think churches can get caught up in the "right programing" while it misses the greater calling. The Body of Christ around the world is prospering, but it isn't always packaged in a nice box with pretty bows.
Here are some things I would like to add to the list:
- A Heart for Missions - supporting, praying, giving and sending.
- Outreach - having a vision beyond the church walls.
- Courageous Leadership - willing to risk making difficult decision based on the direction of the Holy Spirit.
- Persecution - "The most accurate ways to detect and measure the activity of God is to note the amount of opposition that is present" (Ripken, 153).
- Compassion - People around the world are dying of malnutrition and dehydration.
- Multiplication - Church planting!
I would like to have everything listed in the article for the church I pastor, but if the list presented by the article is all there is, it will not inspire courageous hearts to participate.
