Who has God uniquely positioned us to reach?
That was one of the three questions Scott Hodge posed to the group at Related Leaders today, the one-day conference hosted by Riverside Community Church.
I’ve read Scott’s blog for years and have even spoken to him on the phone – but this is the first time that I actually met him in person. It was a little surreal – I mean, I fell like I already know the guy. But that’s pretty typical of all of my new relationships, being the blogging, Twittering, Facebooking nerd that I am.
Anyway – Scott’s talk today was about change and growth. About how most of the time, there is SOMETHING we need to change. The question isn’t if there’s something that needs to be changed, but it’s whether or not we will take the time to identify that thing – and then if we will actually commit to doing it.
He had three questions that we (as church leaders) need to ask ourselves:
- Who is God calling us to reach?
- What is it going to take for us to reach them?
- Are we willing to pay the price?
It was refreshing to hear such a straightforward approach to doing ministry. Simplicity is good.
Here are a couple of quotes that stood out to me form today:
God won’t ask you, “How comfortable were your people?” He’s going to ask you, “How faithful were you with what I gave you?”
If you want to reach people you’ve never reached, you’re going to have to do things you’ve never done before.
We should always be more focused on those outside the walls of the church than we are with those inside them.
The more we focus on meeting the needs of others, the more we find that our own needs are met.
We need to create an environment that says to our visitors, “We knew you were coming, and we were expecting you.”
There are some pastors who could be leaving a legacy with your church, but instead you’re too concerned with your retirement.
What do we need to stop doing?
What do we need to start doing?
