The Marks of a Great Church
Rex Yancey
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
In every church I have had the privilege to pastor, I believed the church could be a great church. This church is not an exception to that thinking. I want our church to be a great church-not a mediocre church and not even a good church.
I believe we can be a dynamic, loving, and growing congregation who can reach people for Christ and enjoy wonderful fellowship with the Lord and with each other.
In the last 42 years my faith has been frustrated at times. I have been dumbfounded a few times, disappointed and even grief stricken, but I still believe it is possible in our day to have a great church. I believe in the potential greatness of this church or I would not be here.
-One pastor said to another, ''Is so and so STILL a member of your church?'' The pastor said, ''Yes, very still.'' This is one of the problems many churches have-they have too many members who are very still.
-The preacher failed to show up for a graveside service one day and the undertaker decided that something ought to be said before they put the body in the ground. So, he stepped up to the end of the casket and said, 'I happen to know that this corpse was a member of the Baptist church for over 40 years.'' This is another problem that churches have-many are cold and few are frozen.
-We have been taught that the NT church was the ideal church. My question is, ''Which one?'' Should we be like the immature church at Corinth? Should we be like the legalistic Galatia church? Should we be like the dead church at Sardis? Should we be like the lost-love church at Ephesus?
These are all NT churches. However, one of the best churches in the NT was this church at Thessalonica. Paul thought it was a great church. He thanked God for it and remembered them in his prayers. He was pleased with the reputation of this church.
-This church was a product of the missionary strategy of Paul. In Acts 16:9, he had a vision o ...
Rex Yancey
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
In every church I have had the privilege to pastor, I believed the church could be a great church. This church is not an exception to that thinking. I want our church to be a great church-not a mediocre church and not even a good church.
I believe we can be a dynamic, loving, and growing congregation who can reach people for Christ and enjoy wonderful fellowship with the Lord and with each other.
In the last 42 years my faith has been frustrated at times. I have been dumbfounded a few times, disappointed and even grief stricken, but I still believe it is possible in our day to have a great church. I believe in the potential greatness of this church or I would not be here.
-One pastor said to another, ''Is so and so STILL a member of your church?'' The pastor said, ''Yes, very still.'' This is one of the problems many churches have-they have too many members who are very still.
-The preacher failed to show up for a graveside service one day and the undertaker decided that something ought to be said before they put the body in the ground. So, he stepped up to the end of the casket and said, 'I happen to know that this corpse was a member of the Baptist church for over 40 years.'' This is another problem that churches have-many are cold and few are frozen.
-We have been taught that the NT church was the ideal church. My question is, ''Which one?'' Should we be like the immature church at Corinth? Should we be like the legalistic Galatia church? Should we be like the dead church at Sardis? Should we be like the lost-love church at Ephesus?
These are all NT churches. However, one of the best churches in the NT was this church at Thessalonica. Paul thought it was a great church. He thanked God for it and remembered them in his prayers. He was pleased with the reputation of this church.
-This church was a product of the missionary strategy of Paul. In Acts 16:9, he had a vision o ...
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