Comments on: Re-imagining Success

By: Vito

Vito — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:32:17 +0000

Oh, my gosh. This is painful.
Let me rephrase #1.

“1. The number of cigarette butts in the ash tray outside your church doors”
It’s not about the the cigarettes or where the butts are discarded, it’s about the people who smoke them. Are there ash trays outside your church door?

By: Toddy

Toddy — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:53:52 +0000

Man, with all the fuss over a durry, what would some of you guys do if someone started shooting up!! Or a woman said she was going back to her abusive husband because ‘he really loves her’, or the guy who leaves a big oil slick in the carpark and a cloud of smoke when he leaves, and you just know that he’s gonna be asking you for a lift somewhere during the week…

By: Gordon Cloud

Gordon Cloud — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:47:02 +0000

Awesome list. Very provacative and causitive of introspection.

BTW, I’ll gladly fill up every empty seat in my church with a smoker. At least we have the opportunity to (hopefully) bring them closer to the delivering power of Christ.

By: Mike Leahy

Mike Leahy — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:43:07 +0000

Great list! Love it and the different way to measure success! I would add the gay/lesbian community feeling welcome and safe.

By: Bill Harrel

Bill Harrel — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:14:47 +0000

Broken people are already broken. We can’t fix them but Christ can. Smoking won’t send anyone to hell. But our reaction to their habits, hangups and hurts might keep them out of heaven. We must be careful that our reaction is not the thing that blocks them from coming to Christ, which many times means they come to church first. Cigarettes and much more. Just read this from Daniel Henderson… “Our greatest fear is not that we fail but that we succeed in things that do not matter.” To reach the unchurched who smoke and minimize the discomfort of those who don’t, put a cigarette butt container out. Doesn’t seem quite fair that only believers should have a smoker’s corner.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:51:20 +0000

Success? All of the metaphors listed are outward symbols – but what about an inward reality first?Success is the word of God being preached faithfully – that’s it. And at the center of that preaching is the Cross – the atonement of our sins paid for on the cross. Without salvation from Hell unto Christ, you can change any habit or lifestyle you want – but without Jesus, one’s eternity is lost. A better life or a moral life means nothing without the salvation of Christ from Hell. And if you faithfully teach that, a human will either be drawn toward God or repulsed away from Him. So if a church sees people being drawn to Christ and seeking salvation and the church sees those offended by the words of Christ and walk away – the church is being clear in its message and is successful. And then when those “activities” listed are seen, they are born of the Spirit, not man’s efforts, church programs or just seeking a better life. Success is all about the message being preached!

By: choosethecross.com » Measuring church success in the future

choosethecross.com » Measuring church success in the future — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:27:54 +0000

[...] HT via Monday Morning Insight and Backyard Missionary. [...]

By: Interesting email question. « Scott McInnis

Interesting email question. « Scott McInnis — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:43:05 +0000

[...] http://www.backyardmissionary.com/2008/06/re-imagining-success.html [...]

By: Bishop D

Bishop D — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:18:20 +0000

It’s interesting (dumb, silly) when smoking becomes the “red herring” dragged across the trail to get us off the real deal.

No one said that smoking was a good idea, that it was beautiful, that cigarette butts all over the parking lot weren’t litter, that it wasn’t a carcinogen (etc., etc., etc.).

The point was just that if you have broken people coming to church they are likely to have habits that intrude on your space and mess up your place.

If you can’t deal with that, you can’t deal with unchurched people…

Thank you for this list. Many of the points connected to a very tender part of my heart.

A church planter and a believer in grace…

By: Brent

Brent — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:22:37 +0000

We try to measure success by number of people who “get their life back” (find restoration).