There are a growing number of American Churches that have discovered the keys to health and are enjoying the benefits thereof. Again, we know why this is and we know what to do to bring health to a local church. When local churches take the steps necessary to bring about health, the natural result is growth.
Healthy Churches …
- Are guided by grace. Grace gives what others do not deserve. When grace fills the heart, these expressions flow: People are generous, respectful, accepting, considerate, encouraging, friendly, unselfish, and loving.
- Are led by love. Churches grow when their members lovingly work in one another’s lives. Jesus said it this way: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” John 15.13 (ESV)
- Do ministry through mercy. Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve. Again, Jesus speaks to this issue when he criticizes religious leaders who had forgotten this core reality: “And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” Matthew 12:7 (ESV)
The difference between healthy churches and sick churches is a matter of the heart – the heart of the people who make up the local church.
Adapted from Dr. Smith’s new book in process, “The Tantrum-Driven Church.”
