Mark's Blog

I am out of pocket for a couple of weeks, so I am going to re-post the very first series I did–long before any of you were reading this blog–on Great Churches.  I hope you find it relevant.

Sherrylee and I often joke that all we have ever seen in the 60+ countries we have visited is the airport, the road to the church building, and the missionary’s living room. While this is not literally true, it is true that we have had opportunity to visit with hundreds of churches around the world and to talk with hundreds of missionaries and national Christians. This proximity has given us an unusual vantage point for observing what I believe to be essential qualities for great churches.  And by great I do not necessarily mean the largest, but I do mean those churches that seem to me to be truly living and breathing as a strong body of Christ in their culture/country. Allow me to share these with you over the next few days.

Great churches and great missionaries realize that neither the church nor the work belongs to them.  “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) Missionaries/Ministers/Leaders may give their lives to a country or a congregation, but regardless of how much they have given for how many years, the church belongs to Jesus who paid for it with His sinless blood. Too many mature congregations have been “owned” by charter members, by large contributors, by family dynasties, or special interest groups. Equally as many have been owned by founding missionaries, legacy ministers, or irreplaceable elders. I have seen churches forced to literally ban their founding missionary from their building to escape their ownership.

Great churches have leaders who know that they are replaceable; in fact, great leaders plan to replace themselves. It may feed some egos, but it is no compliment to admit that a work might die if a particular leader were not there. A great leader would be working intensely to remedy that situation quickly.

Even Jesus, the Greatest Leader, said, “Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work” (John 10:37). He also said, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you” (John 16:7).

Great churches have great leaders who acknowledge with every word and deed the One who owns them as slaves and who intentionally give up a posture of “ownership” for the health of the body of Christ. The practical result of accepting this principle is the absolute end of turf wars, of jealousies over resources or results, and of battles over authority and control.

Question:  How would you know if YOU were acting as an “owner”?

Next:  Great churches work from a prayer-sought Vision with a prayer-based Strategy.