The Soil For Growth
February 25th, 2008 · Posted in Practical Ministry · 0 CommentsTodd Rhoades at Monday Morning Insight had another good post today about what he sees as one of the major jobs for a Church leader — creating a culture of growth and acceptance in a church. Quoting from John Burke he writes:
“As leaders in a post-Christian society, our job is not making people grow or change. God is responsible for the growth, for changed hearts, but the soil is the responsibility of the leaders. Our task is creating the right soil, a rich healthy environment, in which messy people can come as they are and God can cause the growth over time. But have we considered the cultural soil needed for a healthy Christian community in a hard-packed, post-Christian society?”
God indeed supplies the growth — but the soil — or the culture — should be fertile and prepared. I’ve been reading a lot about Church Transformation lately — and one of the major themes that is emphasized is that people have to want to change and be transformed before change will take place. It’s the culture of change — the soil for growth — that pastors and other leaders need to help create.
There are many ways to do this. Read Todd Rhoades’ ideas here and John Burke’s here.
What are some of your thoughts?
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