Day 18, Acts 18

Acts 18:3–5 “… because he was a tentmaker, like Priscilla and Aquila, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived, Paul devoted himself exclusively to proclamation, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the messiah.”

When Paul arrived in Corinth, he had to raise his own support – in other words, he was bi-vocational. However, even though he spent time in the public eye, he had little success. When Silas and Timothy arrived, apparently so did funding, and he was freed up to work full time in the mission field. When he did, his effectiveness increased.

Paul worked first in one of the small, Corinthian synagogues. But they revolted against his teachings and he was compelled to leave. All wasn’t lost, though, because the synagogue’s leader Crispus and his household and apparently others became followers of The Way and the church in Corinth became well-established.

The reality is, though, when changes come to an organization, not everyone can make the transition. The Corinthian synagogue was “split” and the key leaders left the “church” so to speak in order to be a part of the Church of The Way.

For over thirty years I’ve been successfully leading church transformations. For twenty of those years were as a pastor and fifteen of those years were as a part-time and later a full-time church growth consultant. In ALL of those years, I have never … not once … seen a successful turnaround from church decline to church growth that didn’t lose church members. Change is hard – and the heart-transformation that must take place to embrace a shift from “But what about ME?” to “Whatever it takes to reach people for Jesus” just isn’t in the hearts and spirits of many long-time church members. That’s why a focus on personal spirituality and immersion is scripture is critical for a church facing turnaround (never mind the fact that as a church we’re meant to be spiritually grounded and committed followers of Jesus and his mission to reach the world in his name).

In my wife’s book “10 Ways to Diffuse Your Congregational Time Bombs” she recounts the metaphor of the church as a ship. Many people in the church get on the Gospel Ship with the belief that they’re going on a cruise to the promised land. Imagine their dismay when the ship steams out of the harbor and they’re told they’ve boarded a fishing trawler and they will have to change from the Sunday Best into working clothes. And imagine their distress when they’re expected to bait hooks, haul the nets, cook meals, scrub decks, and clean fish!

“Fish or Cut Bait.” It doesn’t matter which you want to do. Both are important. But sitting on a reclining deck chair to watch the sunset melt slowly into the horizon is not on the agenda for this ship.

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Raytown Christian Church

6108 Blue Ridge Blvd, Raytown, MO 64133

816-353-1708

office@raytowncc.org

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