Here is some good advise for churches in 2013, from Bob Burroughs, a composer and arranger who directed the Florida Baptist Convention church music department until his retirement in 2002. He is author of What Think Ye?: Essays for Twenty-First Century Leaders, Pastors, and Church Musicians.
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For some, the New Year brings the promise and possibility of something exciting for today’s church. For others, the New Year brings the same-old/same-old — doing the same thing without even the possibility of thinking outside the box.
In his outstanding book Barefoot Church, Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture, author Brandon Hatmaker quotes two leaders on their vision for today’s church.
The first, Richard Stearns, president/founder of World Vision, offers his revision of Matthew 25:44-46:
“For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved.”
This paraphrase spoke volumes to my heart. While some of our children got more than they should have gotten for Christmas, a young girl in Kenya was pictured wearing flattened plastic soft-drink bottles tied on her feet with rope. Does that speak to you? It saddens me greatly that I have so much and she has so little. Continue reading “Bob Burroughs: “If the horse is dead, dismount!” – good advice for the church of 2013 to follow”
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