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#1 Agenda; It's all about people and the Gospel of Christ.


It's all about people and the Gospel of Christ.

I was asked the other day by a pastor, what my agenda was, in answer I related the following story;
In 1982, I had the privilege to visit my friend Gary at Christ for the Nations Institute Bible college, in Dallas, Texas. This was my first trip to the United States, and I was excited to see how the college operated. I had heard such good reports, and in comparison, my own college had been dead, dull and boring. One evening at a youth meeting, the leader stood up and said, “Let’s sing the cockroach song.” Laughter erupted, and music started. With great gusto, the young people (about 1,500 of them) sang these words:
            “They rush on the city, they run on the walls, for great is the army that carries out God’s Word.”
It struck me afresh in that moment that the church is purposed to be a vast army advancing rapidly and taking ground with direction and focus. Those young people passionately believed that in singing these words they would extend and take forward the kingdom of God. Today (more than thirty years later), we are constantly being told by the world’s media that the church is in decline. Many claim that Christianity is no longer relevant and has no bearing on the way people live. I dispute this! I see that the church worldwide is growing, is still relevant, and still has a purpose for today’s society. However, many (not all) Christian leaders have lost focus and forgotten their purpose. Many of those leaders are still using antiquated ideas to try to grow their churches and then wonder why their churches don’t grow. Christian leaders have become so cocooned in their Christianity that they no longer understand what is happening in their communities or in ordinary people’s lives.
Far too much time is put on creating a process by which we can put a great event on, on Sunday morning. We completely forget that it's all about people! Many have asked me what my agenda is. This is it, to see great leaders, do great things for God and ensure that people and the gospel of Christ are at the centre of it all.
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