vented. The unconverted did not have any place else to go so they responded to the invitations of Christians and joined in the out reach. We should constantly eval uate the practices of our church to make certain that the things we have always done really contribute to our spiritual goals. In Paul's day, as in ours, there were moral and doctrinal difficul ties. These generally can be much easier to cope with when we fol low the clear and concise Biblical instructions. One of the great bur dens we face in our churches has to do with achieving effectiveness. While some of our churches are very efficiently run there is a real question as to what is being achieved for the Lord. It is possible to devote much of our resources and energies into doing things properly, but not fulfilling the es sentials. What do you think Cod expects of our congregations today? One of our major tasks is to confront the entire world with the Gospel. Yet, how many unsaved people do you have as your friends? We may have many acquaintances, but are the majority of them those who "speak our own language"? How are we to introduce people to Christ if we do not take a kind and compassionate concern for them? In too many cases the church has built high walls around herself. This isolation has fostered a spirit of manasticism. When Cod sends us out to confront the world with the Gospel, our first responsibility is to guide the church in such a manner that the individual lives before the unsaved in a sincere and winsome matter. In Acts God allowed persecution against the infant church which
brought about dispersion of these Christians to all points of the then known world. These men preached Jesus Christ wherever they went. Many people have chosen to by pass the church. A popular, well- known leader in the evangelical world said, "Preacher, I have de cided the church has failed. It is irrelevant." The fallacy of this is that Cod has still chosen the church as His divine instrument as a means of propogating His truth. We dare not forsake the church. Rather we must care for it and its peculiar needs of this hour. This may in volve reform. Always, however, it involves care, tenderness, love, and understanding. The nature and pur pose of the church are unchanging. It is our solemn responsibility to work in our assemblies bringing about not only more efficiency, but also, and more importantly, a greater effectiveness. MANAGEMENT AND CHURCH GROWTH Following one's salvation he will generally show a desire to see oth ers, even the whole world, come to know the Saviour. This zeal and enthusiasm should never be mini mized or allowed to diminish. As we mature in the faith we may find things in the Word of God which may be contrary to our prejudice and basic assumptions. The book of the Acts is most revealing in showing us attitudes toward out reach. We might consider Acts as being a series of reports. There are three different types of church growth depicted in the New Testament. The first is quite obvious since it has to do with numbers and size. The second re veals the qualitative growth where the church matures spiritually. Her Page 33
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