Someone asked the other day what makes a healthy church. I was unprepared for the question, so I rambled about some stuff, but finally landed on this: healthy churches are outward focused, unhealthy churches are turned inward.
It doesn’t matter if a church is small or large, the moment it gets off mission and turns in, the death march begins. Unhealthy churches circle the wagons and put on the oxygen masks. They are in survival mode. Their main thought is self preservation.
Odd. Self preservation is the opposite of what Jesus taught. He taught us to live outside of ourselves and to give ourselves away. When we do that, we are living the kingdom life.
Healthy churches ask what they can do for others. They are thriving in outreach and mission. They have a purpose in this world that transcends themselves. They spend very little time thinking about if they are being fed, and think almost exclusively about if they are feeding others.
I think that these principles are true of the individual life as well as a church. Those who are constantly worried that they don’t have enough are miserable. Those who live generous lives, giving themselves away for Jesus, these are those who find the life that truly is life.
It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.
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