The Church: Spiritual Nursery or Army?

I was recently reading a book and came across this question, "Is the purpose of the church to create a spiritual nursery, or a spiritual army?" That's a great question and how a church answers it will determine its philosophy of ministry.

For example, the "nursery" philosophy looks inward, focuses on comfort, and is characterized by convenience. These spiritual infants scream when their personal needs are not met, and bicker constantly among themselves. Believers in "nursery" churches say soul winning is important, but they never lead a person to Christ. They say prayer is important, but they don't show up for prayer meetings. They fail to see their own spiritual needs, but can clearly point out the faults of others. They are probably very religious, but full of hypocrisy. They hope everyone else is hearing the message the pastor is preaching, but don't think it applies to them. The pastor of a "nursery" church is expected to make every hospital visit and be available at every member's beckoned call. His time is consumed with wiping noses, cleaning up messes, correcting those who are too immature to practice personal discipline. etc. Is this really why God established His Church... to pacify spiritual infants?

On the other hand, the church that sees itself in the business of building a spiritual army is just the opposite. The "army" style church is united and knows its God-given purpose is to train soldiers. The "army" style church looks outward, and realizes the urgency of their search and rescue mission. It builds the troops by identifying prospective soldiers then recruiting, training, and motivating them for service. Each soldier knows his duty, engages in the battle, and disregards his own comfort. There is no time to sit in worship of the past or to relax and watch the officers perform. Those in the "army" style church realize they are in a war and they desperately need each other. The pastor of an "army" style church focuses on the objective, provides direction, trains the trainers, motivates the troops, and leads them into battle for the souls of men and to defeat the enemy.

Our church leaders agreed that EBC must focus our efforts on building a spiritual army for our Lord. We are engaged in spiritual warfare, not childcare. Our anthem is "Onward Christian Soldiers." The Apostle Paul told us to put on our armor. Matthew 28:19-20 records our marching orders and from Acts 1:8, we have derived our four year plan. We are marching into battle! Can we count on you?

Staff Retreat

Following our Deacon retreat, our pastoral staff (and their spouses) spent time away on Monday - Wednesday. It is amazing how much more can be accomplished by getting away from our normal environments. It was also nice to interact with each other outside the parameters of the normal church "business."

Our pastors discussed the church survey questions, and covered many of the same topics the deacons did. We used the deacons' input to launch the conversations to the next level. It was a good level-set for all of us and reassured that we are all aiming at the same targets. It also reminded us of how necessary it is to repeat some basic items to our congregation for the sake of maintaining unity. The church is a "team" and all of the coaches and players must clearly understand the objectives and have the same goals in mind.

Much of our discussion, evaluation, and planning focused on our:
Mission - Exalt the Lord, Equip Believers, and Evangelize the World.
Purpose - To make disciples, who can disciple others
Process - Share, Connect, Serve, Disciple

Other discussion focused on our goals, dreams, target group, service formats, outreach opportunities, what makes EBC distinct, needs in our community that no church is addressing, strategic planning committee, and more! So, buckle your seat belt and hang on; because there are some exciting days ahead for Emmanuel Baptist Church!

Deacon retreat

This past weekend, the deacons and I did something that we have talked about for a long time.... we left town and spent time talking, planning, and praying. There is nothing like getting away from the daily grind, turning off the TV, and just focusing on spiritual things. We have some godly men and I value their insights pertaining to our church and its ministries.

Since January, we had been surveying our people by inserting questions into our weekly bulletins. Our desire was to solicit the church's input, regarding various aspects of our church and its ministries. We are currently developing our 3, 5, and 10 year plans for EBC, and wanted our congregation's input.

Before we could discuss plans for the future, we needed to do an honest assessment of where we are as a church. What are our strengths, weaknesses, goals, and vision? Do we have a clearly defined purpose? Do we have a clearly defined target? What have we done well? What can we do better? How do we measure success?

This process of evaluation and assessment provided topics for deep thought and lengthy conversations. It also fostered some great ideas and an opportunity to refocus on what we are trying to accomplish as a church. The bottom-line... this was time well spent with the godly leaders God has raised up in our church, and all agreed we need to make this an annual event.

Pregnancy Center Banquet

Last night, the Carolina Family Planning Centers hosted their 1st annual fundraising banquet and auction. Pam Tebow, mother of Tim Tebow, was the key speaker. This was definitely a "God-thing" as one lady told me that her center has tried to book Pam for 4 years and we got her after only having been open for 4 months. In addition, it was following the pro-life Super Bowl commercial and the NFL draft that takes place next week. She was definitely a "draw."

The music was provided by the "One Focus Trio," the event was held at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Darlington, and underwritten by our event sponsors Agape Hospice and Nucor. We also thank our many other sponsors for their financial support and the donated auction items. Overall, the event raised approximately $20,000, which will be used to purchase curriculum, instructional models, pregnancy tests, and more.

The highlight of the night was the video taped testimonies shared by new moms who had been assisted by the CFPC. To see the faces of the women and babies that we have touched made a great impact! Since opening our doors in January, we have already had a part in 4 children being born and parents being educated in basic parenting skills.

Our thanks goes out to all of the many volunteers, from various churches, who worked to make this event possible. The CFPC now have offices open in Hartsville and Darlington. Our next office will be open in Marion. Churches and volunteers are already being recruited in that area. If you would like more info about the CFPC, please visit our website at www.CarolinaFamilyPlanning.org.