A Challenge to Pastors

What if every sermon we preach on every Sunday in 2014 was about Jesus?

I know this goes against the common sense advice of the church growth movement. They say that if you want to grow your church, you should preach sermons that are felt needs oriented and highly practical.

But...

What if we speak of Jesus all the time and teach our members to speak of Jesus all the time? What if we show Jesus as an actual person we follow? What if we promote Christ not Christianity?

Could we build a church of people who are attracted to Jesus and who want to actually follow him and not the religion we've built around him?

Who would dare to take up this challenge and risk losing consumer Christians and self-help saints?

Artists love without reservation. They give their hearts completely and leave nothing on the table. They are naked and unashamed. They leave no room for pretension. And because they have given all of themselves, they live without regret.”

― Erwin Raphael McManus, The Artisan Soul: Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art

Rethinking Witness: Live a Questionable Life

Excellent thoughts on the different roles that evangelists and the rest of us have in proclaiming the gospel by Michael Frost.

Does this empower you or not?