Brenda, it is good to hear from you. I hear the "quality" words you have offered. Thank you! If "engage" is a good word for you, how about a shift to "engaging" "Engaged" implies being but not doing. "Engaging" better implies movement and a journey. Thoughts?
Thanks for this, George! “Healthy” is in fact a label that can mean anything… or nothing. Like so much else in modern church life (the phrase “assimilation funnel” comes to mind), it’s practically useless as a means of thinking about churches. I’ve always benefited from your clear-eyed analysis of church, ministry and denominational issues.
Thank MIke! Healthy is not measurable. It is a subjective feeling or subjective ideology. Thus it has an unlimited number of definitions and perspectives. But most of all seems to imply a congregation which has arrived or is at rest in the comfort of their perspective on their own situation.
Thank you, George. I cringe when I hear someone purportedly talking about Discipling describe as healthy a church with numerical growth.
I like:
Engaged
Engaged with Jesus,
engaged spiritually,
engaged in Bible study, engaged in worship, engaged in the community,
engaged is service,
engaged on mission.
engaged witnesses of the Good Newsl.....
Engaged even as we die.
That last one sounds a bit like really following Jesus, don't you think?
Other word(s)
- Discipled and discipling
- Loving the world for Jesus
- A communion (of the Saints)
- On Mission
I guess engaged is my best shot right now.
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Brenda, it is good to hear from you. I hear the "quality" words you have offered. Thank you! If "engage" is a good word for you, how about a shift to "engaging" "Engaged" implies being but not doing. "Engaging" better implies movement and a journey. Thoughts?
Thanks for this, George! “Healthy” is in fact a label that can mean anything… or nothing. Like so much else in modern church life (the phrase “assimilation funnel” comes to mind), it’s practically useless as a means of thinking about churches. I’ve always benefited from your clear-eyed analysis of church, ministry and denominational issues.
Thank MIke! Healthy is not measurable. It is a subjective feeling or subjective ideology. Thus it has an unlimited number of definitions and perspectives. But most of all seems to imply a congregation which has arrived or is at rest in the comfort of their perspective on their own situation.