AUGUST 29 - A Fruitful Church: Moving Beyond "Acceptable"

Bishop Robert Schnase writes about the importance of seeking excellence, not mere acceptability, in being a fruitful church:

Vibrant, fruitful, growing congregations place a high premium on excellence in ministry. They do not settle for mediocrity, indifference, or a tolerable adequacy. They offer their best and highest. They continually learn and improve and evaluate and adapt.

They exceed expectations. They outdo themselves in their enthusiasm for quality. They offer exemplary hospitality, worship, learning in community, service and mission, and generosity.

God did not create the heavens and the earth and say, "It's good enough." Rather, Scripture describes God imbuing creation with superlatives!

Spiritual motivation for excellence does not derive from market strategies, trying to outdo competitors to win customer affections. Excellence is not about outranking others or seeking recognition.

Excellence means to "live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Philippians 1:27). It means cultivating the gifts of the Spirit in us and in others to the fullest to the glory of God. We cannot settle for "mediocrity masquerading as faithfulness." Church leaders ask - "Are we offering our best and highest?"

What do you think???


If you want to read a bit more of Bishop Schnase's thoughts on excellence...go to this article: It's Worth It

AUGUST 22 - A Fruitful Church: Generations

Being a "fruitful church" does not mean being a church family that offers ministries that are pleasing to me.

An authentically "fruitful church" will be faithful to the biblical mandate to pass along the Good News to the next generation, and even to generations yet unborn. We see this theme repeatedly in the Bible:

PSALM 78:4 (nrsv). We will tell to the coming generations the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

PSALM 89:1 (nrsv). I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.

PSALM 145:4 (nrsv). One generation shall laud your works to another.

PSALM 78:18 (nrsv). Even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come.

JOEL 2:28 (nrsv). I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

This passage from Joel was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, and it should CONTINUE to be fulfilled in our midst today!

See also how the generations work together in Titus 2:1-8 and 1 Timothy 5:1-2. Other passages to consult include Genesis 17:1-8, Exodus 31:13, Psalm 33:11, Psalm 45:17, Psalm 79:13, Psalm 102:18, Acts 13:36, and 1 Timothy 4:12.

Here is an article that references the experiences of evangelist Luis Palau in Wales, that help explain the saying "God has no grandchildren." The article also points to the dilemma of Christians in the USA today:

"Is This the Last Christian Generation" by Steve Cable - CLICK HERE

Refer also to this insightful article by George Barna - "How Teenagers' Faith Practices Are Changing" - CLICK HERE.

AUGUST 15 - A Fruitful Church

Here are some thoughts from Rick Warren (pastor of Saddleback Church) about success and faithfulness for a church:

The opposite of success is not faithfulness, but failure! Any church that is not obeying the Great Commission is failing its purpose for existing, no matter what else it does.

Jesus defined faithfulness in terms of behavior - it is a willingness to take risks that require faith in order to be fruitful.

The clearest example of this is the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. The two men who doubled the talents the master gave them were called “good and faithfulservants.” In other words, they proved their faithfulness by taking risks that produced fruit. They were successful at the task that they had been assigned, and they were rewarded for it by the master

The passive, fearful servant who did nothing with the talent he was given produced no results to show the master when he returned. He was called “wicked and lazy” in contrast to the two servants called “faithful” who produced results.

The point of the story is clear: God expects to see results (fruit) that demonstrate our faithfulness. While others defined faithfulness as orthodoxy, Jesus defined faithfulness as productivity!

Faithfulness is accomplishing as much as possible with the resources and talents God has given you. That’s why comparing churches is an illegitimate way to measure success. Success is not being larger than some other church; it is bearing as much fruit as possible given your gifts, opportunities, and potential.

Christ doesn’t expect us to produce more than we can but he does expect us to produce all that we can by his power within us. That is a lot more than most of us think is possible. We expect too little from God and we attempt too little for him. If you’re not taking any risks in your ministry, then no faith is required to do it. And if your ministry doesn’t require any faith, then you are being unfaithful.

Are you being faithful if you insist on doing ministry in a way that is comfortable for you even though it doesn’t produce any fruit?

Are you being faithful to Christ if you value man-made traditions more than reaching people for him?


Bishop Robert Schnase is the author of the book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. When speaking of bearing fruit, Jesus talks about the importance of pruning. Does this apply to church life? Schnase would suggest that it does. Read Schnase's thoughts below on pruning:

The biblical stories of plants and seeds and growth and vines and branches are incomplete without the idea of pruning. How do we deal with ministries that have served their time and are no longer fruitful?

According to Peter Drucker, the purpose of any non-profit organization is the changed life. If we are doing work and offering ministries that are no longer shaping lives in significant ways, perhaps we should stop doing them.

Are there services, activities, and outreach ministries that we need to reduce or close down? How do we redirect staff time, volunteer energy, and financial resources toward the ministries that most help us fulfill our mission? These are tough questions. It’s hard to stop doing something that we’ve been doing for a long time, even when everyone questions its current usefulness.

If it’s not bearing fruit, stop doing it.

Listen to what Jesus says on the subject: “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:9) Ouch!

Paul shares a similar notion in a gentler fashion when he talks about aspects of the spiritual life. He suggests that as we accept the new creation offered us in Christ, we starve the old nature and feed the new.

Are there adjustments we should make that help us focus more effectively on our mission? What’s the one practice that, if we performed it with utmost consistency, effectiveness, and intentionality, would have the greatest positive effect on the ministry of our congregation? How can we give it more time and emphasis? And what is an aspect of our ministry we give time to regularly that brings little positive effect and has no visible impact? Can we collaborate with others to plan a path forward that grants release from it?