"ByLine with Dan Betzer" Program #3283
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
"The formation of a Christian ghetto"
Hello again, this is Dan Betzer.
USA Today featured a story recently about some fellow's effort to move professing believers to South Carolina in an effort to turn that state into a promised land for Christians. The leader believes thousands of religious conservatives across the US agree with him when he says their influence on government is diluted by liberals and conservatives, too, who have failed to do what mainstream Americans elected them to do. So his answer: Move like-minded Christians to one state: South Carolina.
Well, nothing against that lovely state, but, hey, I ain't movin'. What are we followers of Christ in Florida supposed to do? Just abdicate the sunshine state? Don't we need Christ's followers in California any more? Shall all the believers in Washington, D.C. just tell the capital, "Sayonara?" And are all followers of Christ right-wing Republicans? I don't think so. That concept isn't even scriptural, in my opinion. Jesus said that we, His workforce, are to be "salt" over the whole earth. And he added, "If the salt doesn't hit the food, the food doesn't taste as good." (Or words to that effect.)
So this guy in South Carolina wants all the salt to climb back into the shaker so it can fellowship with all the other grains of salt. (Sounds like he thinks perhaps all the salt grains are white, too, doesn't it?) I don't think that's a very healthy idea. Shouldn't the church instead begin to finally learn how to infiltrate the place where God put us? Jesus told the former demon-possessed guy in Gadara to stay where he was and tell the good news... not join the 12 disciples in the "Jesus boat." Dan Betzer, commentary -
Byline
If sheep do not have the constant care of a shepherd, they will go the wrong way, unaware of the dangers at hand. They have been known to nibble themselves right off the side of a mountain. ... And so, because sheep are sheep, they need shepherds to care for them. The welfare of sheep depends solely upon the care they get from their shepherd. Therefore, the better the shepherd, the healthier the sheep. Kay Arthur, Bible Teacher
Preparing God's people, that's my job, and that's a whole different ball game from doing the ministry myself. The church needs to place its members, in a healing environment of love, acceptance and forgiveness. We must bring people to wholeness in such an environment, equip them, and then release them. Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness; Jerry Cook; Regal 1979
We've made it clear at Fellowship Church that things will constantly change. It's what I call being consistently inconsistent. The message will not change, but how we communicate it will, so we can reach a variety of people in a variety of ways. Every time you talk about the vision of your church, which should be often, reinforce this idea of change. Leadership, Winter 2005, Creative Tension, Ed Young
The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say "I." And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say "I." They don't think "I." They think "we"; they think "team." They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but "we" gets the credit. ... This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done. Peter Drucker, Managing the Nonprofit Organization
