I recently read Invading Secular Space by Martin Robinson and Dwight Smith. I almost did not read it because of the title. I assumed the authors held a view of the world that divided the sacred from the secular. The title seemed to imply violently taking back territory from the world. I was surprised to see something different. This book is a very insightful work on how the church needs to engage the world today. The authors have worked in church growth and church planting for a number of years. This selection from page 121 is one of the many significant passages:
The gifts we currently need relate to the sowing of many seeds amongst diverse people groups and waiting to see what happens. Discipling, equipping and releasing those who have had significant grace experiences and who have the desire and ability to communicate needs to be the priority for the moment. Insisting that such disciples bring the fruit of their work into existing structures will almost certainly stop spontaneous growth from taking place. We need to be willing to birth the new with a spirit of generosity.
There are three shifts to which this paragraph points: 1. Shifting from program organization to disciple-making relationships. Programs can and do help in the discipleship process, but can no longer be the goal of local church planning. 2. Shifting from church building to kingdom extnesion. This is a difficult shift to make. However, Jesus has promised to build His church while He has commanded us to go into every nation (people group) and make disciples. 3. Shifitng from planned events to attract crowds to encouraging spontaneous growth through the lives of Christians. This need not be either one or the other. It is not enough to have events designed to attract a crowd. The everyday lives of Christians need to become more powerful displays of the grace and mercy of God.
These shifts, once they take place, put us in a stronger postition to see new expressions of the church reaching people never before touched by the power of the gospel.
