koinonitis ● over-active fellowship, people turned inward. ● work focused on maintenance, not...
TRANSCRIPT
Koinonitis● Over-active fellowship, people
turned inward.
● Work focused on maintenance, not outreach.
● “Church is for saints, not for sinners.”
● Little attempt to bring new Christians into church.
● Few or no friends outside of church.
● Common to immigrant churches, high group consciousness, charismatic groups.
Koinonitis● CURE:
● Rearrange and divide existing groups.
● Keep small groups “porous.”
● Start new groups regularly.
● Be sure all levels of sanctification have groups of their own.
Arrested SpiritualDevelopment
● DEFINITION: A condition where decisions don't become disciples.
● SYMPTOMS: Many members can't articulate their faith and their relationship to Christ.
● Poorly defined vision and philosophy of ministry.
● Purposeless education program.
● Dull, lifeless worship services.
● Crisis-oriented pastoral care only.
● Pastor leaves every 4-6 years.
Arrested SpiritualDevelopment
● MORE SYMPTOMS: Deficient Bible knowledge
● Little or no soul-winning.
● Poor spiritual formation
● Spiritual gifts neither recognized nor used.
● CURE: Revival by the Holy Spirit.
● Emphasize prayer and evangelism.
● Re-state church's vision that stretches the congregation's faith.
Arrested SpiritualDevelopment
● MORE CURES: Disciple and equip, rather than educate.
● Pastor must develop the following traits: stays put, Great Commission minded, gutsy, ranches the herd rather than shepherds the flock.
● Discover and use people's spiritual gifts.
● Worship that gives an experience of God rather than information about God.
People Blindness
● DEFINITION: Oblivious to cultural differences.
● SYMPTOMS: The attitude that other cultures are inferior
● Trying to do cross-cultural evangelism in a mono-cultural way. Not recognizing barriers in language, dialects, and lifestyles.
● Problems in assimilating people.
People Blindness
● CURES: Affirm the cultural heritage of each cultural group.
● Reach different cultural groups in culturally appropriate ways.
Hyper-Cooperativism
● DEFINITION: Cooperation for the wrong ends (e.g. Joint evangelistic crusades)
● Push for cooperation and mergers because of dwindling resources.
● A lot of time spent in evangelism, but no results. Decisions, but no disciples.
● Identity of each congregation is blurred.
● A lot of pastors' time spent in merging instead of evangelism.
Hyper-Cooperativism
● CURE: Limit cooperation to joint theological education, social services, and church unity; but not evangelism.
Sociological Strangulation
● DEFINITION: Overcrowding of facilities
● SYMPTOMS: Church growth stops.
● Sanctuary 80% full.
● CURE: Build sanctuary larger.
● Hold parallel services in other rooms of same building.
● Start daughter church.
● Home meetings
● Weekday services, multiple services
St. John'sSyndrome
● DEFINITION: Christianity of Faith and form, but no power.
● SYMPTOMS: Most members raised in Christian families. 3rd and 4th generation Christians.
● Loss of first love for Jesus Christ, or never experienced first love.
● Infiltration of false doctrine.
● Affluence that leads to lukewarmness.
● Biological/transfer growth only.
St. John'sSyndrome
● Patterns of worship are frozen.
● Revival and renewal is rejected theologically.
● PREVENTION: Steady influx of new and excited converts.
Other Diseases● ETHNICITIS – an unchanging
church in an ethnically changing neighborhood.
● SYMPTOMS: new minorities moving into neighborhood, vandalism of church property, deteriorating buildings.
● CURE: terminal disease, with a few options.
– Die with dignity.– Sell building and move.– Hire minority pastor to become a multi-
ethnic church.– Forge new kind of homogeneity.– Become multi-congregational.
Other Diseases● REVERSE ETHNICITIS –
immigrant church which moves into a majority culture neighborhood.
Other Diseases● GHOSTTOWN DISEASE – a
church located in a disappearing community.
● SYMPTOMS: no weddings, no baptisms, people leaving neighborhood for education and jobs, no one moving in.
● CURE: none.
● Share a pastor from another congregation.
● Remove guilt from the community.
● Die with dignity.