Title: Being Sought
Author: Christopher Harbin
Text: Mark 1:29-39
Over the years, I have read numerous church growth books, been to seminars and conferences on how to grow a church, studied marketing strategies, and received pep talks from leaders whose churches have grown far beyond the norm. I've been through strategy training, evangelism, visioning, and church renewal workshops. Most every one of these was a Christianized revision of the latest business strategies. Very few took a serious look at Jesus, Jesus' message, and Jesus' practice. For the most part, you would think he did everything wrong. He did not structure an organization, define growth strategies, or even work in population centers where he could gather crowds. So, why did the people seek him out when he did not even make that easy?
Ever notice that it's hard to build a following if you are always on the move? Being an itinerant preacher is not a great strategy for amassing a following, building an institution, or generating power. We humans are much more attracted to stable constructs like temples, pyramids, monuments, and other structures that draw the eye and speak of power, wealth, and influence. It would seem Jesus went about most everything in an upside-down, backwards, inside-out way. Then again, his objectives were not the same as what we project for great leaders, for churches, or defined movements.
While I was having a procedure a while back, there was a large framed poster on the wall by the machine to which I was hooked up. It was a cartoon drawing with hundreds of individuals in a very colorful display, and one was supposed to locate a very distinctive character amid the tumultuous scene: Waldo. With not much else to do for 45 minutes, I sought Waldo, but I only managed to locate three characters who were not quite Waldo. I'm pretty sure he was there. Maybe I needed new glasses, but I could not find him. I could not figure out where to look for ...
Author: Christopher Harbin
Text: Mark 1:29-39
Over the years, I have read numerous church growth books, been to seminars and conferences on how to grow a church, studied marketing strategies, and received pep talks from leaders whose churches have grown far beyond the norm. I've been through strategy training, evangelism, visioning, and church renewal workshops. Most every one of these was a Christianized revision of the latest business strategies. Very few took a serious look at Jesus, Jesus' message, and Jesus' practice. For the most part, you would think he did everything wrong. He did not structure an organization, define growth strategies, or even work in population centers where he could gather crowds. So, why did the people seek him out when he did not even make that easy?
Ever notice that it's hard to build a following if you are always on the move? Being an itinerant preacher is not a great strategy for amassing a following, building an institution, or generating power. We humans are much more attracted to stable constructs like temples, pyramids, monuments, and other structures that draw the eye and speak of power, wealth, and influence. It would seem Jesus went about most everything in an upside-down, backwards, inside-out way. Then again, his objectives were not the same as what we project for great leaders, for churches, or defined movements.
While I was having a procedure a while back, there was a large framed poster on the wall by the machine to which I was hooked up. It was a cartoon drawing with hundreds of individuals in a very colorful display, and one was supposed to locate a very distinctive character amid the tumultuous scene: Waldo. With not much else to do for 45 minutes, I sought Waldo, but I only managed to locate three characters who were not quite Waldo. I'm pretty sure he was there. Maybe I needed new glasses, but I could not find him. I could not figure out where to look for ...
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