Apples of Gold
Radio Script for December 16, 2008
“Extreme Church Makeover”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
First we had extreme makeovers, where they took people and made them far more attractive.
Then came extreme home makeovers, where the end result was a beautiful house.
Now what I want to see is extreme church makeovers.
The first thing you do in a makeover is take a close look at the weak spots, then decide how to strengthen them.
As I look at the church, here is a weakness I see. Every week we fill up church buildings with people. Plus we have big meetings and crusades that fill up stadiums. It adds up to millions and millions of people.
Now listen to First Corinthians 12:7, “…to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
That means each one of those millions of people has a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It’s a gift that has been given to them to be used for the common good.
Verse 4 says the Holy Spirit has given out “different kinds of gifts.”
Verse 5 says there are “different kinds of service.”
Verse 6 says there are “different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”
Verse 14 says, “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.”
Verse 18 says, “...God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.”
And verse 27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
The imagery is clear. Everyone one of us, as Christians, are parts of the body. There are millions of us, and each one is a body part.
Now here is what I see as a weakness in the church. We have a handful of body parts that we spruce up to no end; meanwhile the rest of them are virtually ignored.
Millions of body parts simply atrophy.
I mean, think about it. Look out over all the congregations. Imagine them sitting there, week in and week out. That is a massive pool of talent. And every week we say “Amen” and off they go for another week. Oh, they’re busy all week. But what about this manifestation of the Spirit they each have? What about the different kinds of gifts and different kinds of service?
This is where the extreme church makeover comes in. We need to get every body part moving.
Now think about most congregations. Most of them have one strong body part, the pastor. Because face it, if the pastor isn’t strong you won’t even have a congregation.
And these days congregations have a strong music program. People like music, so we work to make sure the musical body parts are moving.
Then, because we want to reach families, we get the kid ministry body parts moving.
Then after that it starts to break down. Yes, various churches have various ministries, but there are still masses of people who have so much to offer but for whatever reason it’s just not happening.
Have you seen the trend in government when special needs arise? They see a gap in service, and the next thing you know we have a new position. For example, when they realized the nation had a drug problem they created a new post for a drug enforcement advisor. For national computer issues we have a cyber-security advisor. After September 11th they came up with the entire new Department of Homeland Security.
I think we need a post like this in our congregations, someone who is in charge of getting every body part moving.
First Corinthians 12:28 says that some people have specific gifts of administration. This is the kind of people you want in charge of activating the body. People who are organizers. People who are managers. People who can see the different parts of the body and organize them and motivate them.
Now let me say this. I think there is a mistaken notion that all these body parts have to be put to work inside the local church. Not so.
Ministry takes place all the time all over the place. Crucial ministry happens in the heat of the workday. It happens late at night when families are hurting. It happens on buses and in carpools; on committees and in neighborhoods.
For this reason, all the body parts need to be working. Ephesians 4:16 talks about every part doing its share of the work.
Many people don’t know this. They think if they don’t have some specific church-service-talent, then there’s not much they can do.
Oh, but there is plenty they can do. Each one has a gift, a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, millions and millions of them; and they fill our congregations on a weekly basis.
That’s why I think we need an extreme church makeover. We need to recruit people with gifts of administration, then have them organize ways to equip and train and motivate so that every part of the body of Christ is working and strong and using the gifts God has given them.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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