'Western evangelicalism tends to run through cycles of fads. At the moment books are flying off the presses telling us how to plan for success, how 'vision' consists in clearly articulated 'ministry goals,' how the knowledge of detailed profiles of our communities constitutes the key to successful outreach. I am not for a moment suggesting that there is nothing to be learned from such studies. but after a while one may perhaps be excused for marvelling how many churches were planted by Paul and Whitefield and Wesley and Stanway and Judson without enjoying these advantages. Of course all of us need to understand the people to whom we minister, and all of us can benefit from small doses of such literature. But massive doses sooner or later dilute the gospel. Ever so subtly, we start to think that success more critically depends on thoughtful sociological analysis than on the gospel; and that analysis becomes more important than the Bible. We depend on plans, programs and vision statements- but somewhere along the way we have succumbed to the temptation to diplace the foolishness of the cross with the wisdom of strategic planning. Again, I insist, my position is not a thinly veiled obscurantism, for seat-of-the-pants ministry that plans nothing. Rather, I fear that the cross, without ever being disowned, is constantly in danger of being dismissed from the central place it must enjoy, by relatively peripheral insights taht take on far too much weight. Whenever the periphery is in danger of displacing the centre, we are not too far removed from idolatry.'
'The Cross and Christian Ministry' by D. A. Carson is recommended by Resolve07 and is available to buy at:
We also want to direct you to another couple of links today. One highlighted by Colin Adams asks the question as to how the devil seeks to undermine ministry and can be found at www.sermoncentral.com/article.asp?article=a-greg_stier_07_23_07&ac=true
The other is the recent addition of some of the workshop material from the Gospel Coalition conference and can be found at:
We hope that these are helpful for you in your ministry, or as you seek to support and encourage those in ministry.
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