Post date: Dec 07, 2016 6:59:23 PM
Nov 10, 2011 by Maynard Eyestone
“What Is Our Mission?” asks Rick Wood, Editor, in the September-October 2011 issue of Mission Frontiers (Pasadena, U. S. Center for World Mission). “There seems to be a great deal of confusion in the Church about what is and what is not the mission that God has given to us….Does God just want us to get people saved and bound for heaven, or does He care about our lives in this world as well?....
MAKING CONVERTS
“Based on the ministry strategies that have been employed over the last 100 years, it is fair to deduce that a major emphasis of our efforts in the Church has been to get as many people saved as possible and not to disciple new believers….[Prevailing] methods are centered upon ‘professional’ leaders delivering the gospel message and not on equipping all believers to carry out the work of ministry….
“We have paid a terrible price by focusing so much on just getting people saved and not enough on making them disciples who can and should change the world.”
INSPIRING ACTION
The goal defined here applies equally to the Christian Liberty Party. We have exercised diligence in conducting introductory meetings and distributing membership recruitment letters, all aimed at maintaining and increasing the number of members. Now the challenge before us is to achieve more action aimed at bringing God’s standards to bear on our culture and our civil government.
We are attempting to enlist our members in “voter clubs”–whose purposes include training the members for greater participation in the civic process. Here is where we “equip believers to carry out the work of ministry.” This is where we “[make] disciples who can and should change the world.” It is through Christian Voter Clubs that we can best respond to the challenge that is before us.
COME AND WORK
We have said very clearly, “our nation needs a Christian political party through which we can express our commitment to God-fearing and God-honoring policies in government. By joining, support us in this worthy cause.” “Join!” The focus of our appeal should be, “come and work; come and sacrifice; pray and discover what God would have you do in the civic arena; join one or more others who will hold each other accountable for the performance of those God-given assignments.
We have drafted fine plans. It was vitally important that we state clearly the Scriptural principles on which laws should be based and by which government should operate; we have diligently attempted to do that. It was important that we express clearly our vision; we believe that with God’s help we have done that very well. And in our day the need is most urgent to state a platform that is totally consistent with God’s Word. The Lord has given us gifted theologians who are producing that platform. These things are foundational.
WELL DESIGNED—FOR A PURPOSE
Our fine organization is like a superior car. Fine automobiles grow from fine plans. But fine automobiles do not fulfill their purpose when people buy them. They fulfill their purpose when people drive them—when people get in them and go!
Driver’s Ed: that’s what Christian Voter Clubs are about. And we need thousands of them, if we are to see God’s people fulfilling God’s will in the civic arena.