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| (Jax, Josh's cat) |
Jesus made pastoral leadership simple when he said, "When I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself."
Jesus believed he had so much drawing power that not only do we not have to entertain the people, our entertainers could not draw people to him (otherwise Jesus would have been an entertainer, adding some song and dance, right?). Plus, entertainment actually draws us away from Jesus. It numbs people into an audience. Audiences are passive. And audiences critique. (The Entertainment Church hosts the Critical Church.)
This is a great relief for me! It eliminates endless, thankless striving to keep people happy and in the seats. And, it saves lots of money, allowing us to give more to the truly needy
The apostle Paul knew about Jesus. It's all he desired to know. He confessed to wanting to know nothing except Christ crucified. Paul, like Jesus, was a minimalist.
Michael Brown writes:
"Jesus did not save us and call us to be an audience! Audiences do not change the world. Audiences do not start revolutions. Audiences do not advance the kingdom. Audiences do not fulfill the Great Commission. And audiences do not threaten the devil one bit. We must destroy this audience mentality, although our entertainment-oriented culture, replete with slick mega-churches and superstar preachers, make this an uphill battle for sure. But change we must, since the devil's troops understand well how the battle must be won - and it is not with the audience mentality."
- Brown, Revolution in the Church: Challenging the Religious System with a Call for Radical Change, Kindle Locations 922-927.
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My three books are:
Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God
Leading the Presence-Driven Church
Encounters with the Holy Spirit (co-edited with Janice Trigg)
I'm currently writing:
Transformation: How God Changes the Human Heart
Then, the Lord willing,
Technology and Spiritual Formation
Linda and I then intend to write our book on Relationships.
My three books are:
Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God
Leading the Presence-Driven Church
Encounters with the Holy Spirit (co-edited with Janice Trigg)
I'm currently writing:
Transformation: How God Changes the Human Heart
Then, the Lord willing,
Technology and Spiritual Formation
Linda and I then intend to write our book on Relationships.
