I once read of
two analogies in farming practices that give us a picture of how church
ministry is or can be done. The first is where farmers build fences around
their properties to keep the livestock in (this is called the Bounded Set). However,
in some places (outbacks etc.), the ranches are so vast that fencing is not
viable. Instead, what the farmer does is he bores a well to create a water
supply. The livestock roam but never stray too far from the source of water.
The first farming practice is called a Bounded set, the second, a Centered Set.
Where the Bounded Set represents the use of religious organization and
boundaries to hold a community together, the Centered Set (with a strong center
in Jesus) is said to engender the truly Christ centered approach to doing
church.
Hence, rather
than seeing people as Christian or non-Christian, i.e. “in” or “out,” we would
instead see people by the degree of distance they are from the center. This
approach would make more sense if we were to take into account the well-known Engels
Scale that shows coming to faith and discipleship as a process. It allows for the concept of belonging before believing. No prizes for guessing which church
model fully adopts the Centered Set approach.
(Note: You can read more about this social set theory in ‘Untamed’ by
Alan Hirsh and Debra Hirsch)
Anyhow, the
thought that crossed my mind when I read this was: maybe the reason the church isn't bringing
more to faith and making as many true disciples is because the majority of our own lives are like
shallow or dry wells that cannot attract nor sustain. And we consequently make up
for that by doing more organizing and implementing more structure to keep our
disciples and members “in”. This is why it is so vital for each of us to be ‘deep
wells’. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,
'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" This is the
challenge for us. We need to start believing and cultivating that intimacy with
God. The deep wells of prayer, Scripture and spiritual direction must be dug
deep in our own lives in order for the church to ‘attract’ again – regardless of
which model we adopt.
yew meng
A good analogy. Maybe will figure out what kind of 'well' should create in church later...
ReplyDeleteI'm just sharing an experience about my church. It has never grown more than 25 people (ok, maybe 30, to give credit to my pastor), but yet, our church members are the same since the day we started.
because we blend with the church, we became attached, which is good, because we felt a belonging to the church. of course, 1 Corinthians wrote about us being the parts of the body of Christ.
that's our well: we prayed over each other, we fellowship at makan time, and we spend more time fellowship. most importantly, we accept one another. sheeps definitely will lead astray, but we must keep our church open for the prodigal son to return.
ask yourself this question: do you want to populate the building, or you want to sanctify the body of Christ?
our well does not means to be in deep, agonising prayer. 1 Thess 5:11 Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up...having a relationship with brothers and sisters in Christ is a good way to fill our thirst.
just a thought... :p
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God..." (Ps. 42:1-2a) and "Deep calls to deep..." (Ps. 42:7a) is often shared as how much we long and need God and God's call for His people to go deep in Him and the very depth of our innerman calling out unto God and to go deep in Him.
ReplyDeleteYew Meng, I agree with you. The church must grow deeper in God, emphasize on growing in intimacy with God, having the deep wells of prayer, Scripture and spiritual direction in order for the church to ‘attract’ again. It is the Spirit of God that flows like a river deep and wide. Without the Spirit of God in our lives, church would be so 'dry' as people who maintain shallow wells dry up pretty fast. Yes, we all need to dig deeper so that our lives will be like GEYSERS to people around us!
The church needs to be the springs of living water for the world. Jesus be the centre of His church. Let the river flow.
Hmm...what an interesting analogy...you wrote, "Hence, rather than seeing people as Christian or non-Christian, i.e. “in” or “out,” we would instead see people by the degree of distance they are from the center." This make perfect sense if the centre is really Jesus Christ and him crucified, resurrected & glorified. I guess we need to come to terms with what does Christocentric means. Some self-professing Christians like the "come to Me...and I will give you rest" part but don't care much about "take My YOKE and learn from Me" part (Mat 11:28-30).
ReplyDeleteNow if the centre is to be defined, whose definition is to be followed? In my opinion, it is the Church through the Scripture that has the responsibility and the vested authority by Christ to define it. Whether the Church are doing well or not is another matter. People that do not identified themselves with the people of God or the body of Christ are simply not in the position to do so, not according to Scripture because the church is God's household built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets with Christ as the chief cornerstone.
wow. claps claps. that's a good analogy. it really makes us really thing about how we r doing ministry. and bringing us back to remember its all about helping ppl build a strong and grounded relationship with Jesus and centered on Him. Thank you.
ReplyDeletenow the question is how?
Yes, there needs to be a harmony between the Bounded Set (Use of religious institutions to hold communities together) and the Centered Set (a strong center in Jesus for doing church). The two concepts coexist alongside one another. People are naturally drawn to churches that remain rooted to their core or center in Christ. More than just the preaching of the promises of God's Word to the average Christian, the cry nowadays is how real can Jesus be to every individual. The experiential aspect comes into play here. It is not shocking to witness a high percentage of people giving up on Christianity because they just can't see where they are heading to or how real is Jesus to them. The best way to tackle this issue is if as believers we recognize our role to bring others to the faith but not on our own might. We as His agents need to dig deep and have that reservoir of the springs of living waters within us. Not many will be keen to follow Christ but as they witness our persistence and conviction of who we believe in, trust me, they will follow suit.
ReplyDelete