A God-Centered Church

I am just beginning to read this work by Henry and Melvin Blackaby. My interest in it stems from having been radically tranformed by God through Henry Blackaby's study "Experiencing God." It truly has affected how I see the world, ministry, and myself.

My hope for "A God-Centered Church" is that I will discover ways to help lead others in my congregation and in my community to experience God and be radically tranformed as well. I claim no expertise, only a honest and sincere hope in a rising, living Savior and a firm belief that He desires for us to know Him in a way that is far deeper than most modern Christians currently experience.

Here are a few quotes from the introduction which help to lay the foundation for the rest of the book:

  • "Their [Christians crying out for somthing more in their relationship with God] struggle tends to come from the fact that they never understood the nature of God's great salvation. More specifically, they never understood the corporate nature of salvation an their signifiant place within the people of God" (xi).
  • "Jesus established the church as a divine institution for the proclamation and extension of the kingdom" (xii).
  • "What we need more than any other time in human history, however, is to fear the Lord our God" (xiii).
  • "Christians must make the transition from knowing and doing the will of God as individuals to knowing and doing the will of God within a corporate body of believers" (xiv).
  • "Does the world see our churches as places where good people do good things for God, or do they see the power of God working through His people to do what only He could accomplish?" (xv).

I am excited about how God may use this book in the life of His Church and can't hardly wait to get further into it.

Heavenly Father, as I read through and study this book, I ask that you would grant me wisdom and understanding to learn the lessons which you know I need to learn and that you would give me eyes to see how to apply those lessons to my life and to my congregation, that we would be united in seeking YOUR purposes and living our lives abounding in YOUR love. May we no longer be content with simply knowing about YOU. May we no longer be content with talking about the mission of the church. Give us a hunger to know YOU and to serve YOU in all we do. Amen.

Comments

me said…
Your youth minister touched on this message Sunday. His message was clear and he even used visual tools to show the differene between "knowing someone" and believing in something. We received a paper with recognizable people's pictures on it. We were instructed to identify said characters and I got 10 out of 12 correct. His goal was clear and straight to the point. Our Lord is not only a piece of history but he is that "knot in my stomach", the spirit I cry to and the one I praise daily. The sermon sunk in.
July 23, 2009 at 11:42 PM
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