THE EXTERNALLY FOCUSED CHURCH

 From the archives of rev.org comes this counsel for Rick Rusaw and Erc Swanson.

We don't know of any churches that claim to be internally focused, but they exist all the same. Internally focused churches concentrate on getting people into the church and generating activity there. These churches may create powerful worship experiences, excel in teaching, offer thriving youth programs, and have vibrant small groups, but at the end of the day, what is measured is the number of people and activities within the church. These are good churches filled with good people. And what they do is vital but not sufficient for a healthy church. Worship, teaching, and personal devotions are absolutely necessary for building the internal capacity necessary to sustain an external focus, but if all the human and financial resources are extended inside the four walls of the church, then no matter how "spiritual" things may appear to be, something is missing.
In many churches today, people are rediscovering the majesty of God and expressing their praise through worship. Music is no longer just the warm-up for the message. There is expectancy that God inhabits the praises of his people (Psalm 22:3, King James Version). But worship that is not manifested in how we live in relationship with others may be hollow. We aren't the first ones to experience this. In the years preceding the Babylonian captivity, Isaiah had a message from God concerning Israel's "internal" focus -- along with an exhortation to move beyond formal worship to true righteousness:

"Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me...I cannot bear your evil assemblies...They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen...Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice; encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow (from Isaiah 1:13-17, emphasis added).

Throughout his prophetic book, Isaiah exposes the inadequacy of the faith of people who focus on loving God but forget about loving others. Addressing the futility of prayers and fasting in the absence of concern for others, God says, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -- when you see the naked, to clothe him?" (Isaiah 58:6-7a).

Externally focused churches are internally strong, but they are oriented externally. Their external focus is reflected in those things for which they staff and budget. Because they engage their communities with the good works and good news of Jesus Christ, their communities are better places in which to live. These churches look for ways to be useful to their communities, to be a part of their hopes and dreams. They build bridges to their communities instead of walls around themselves. They don't shout at the dirty stream; they get in the water and begin cleaning it up. They determine their effectiveness not only by internal measures -- such as attendance, worship, teaching, and small groups -- but also by external measures: the spiritual and societal effects they are having on the communities around them. Externally focused churches measure not only what can be counted by also what matters most -- the impact they are having outside the four walls of the church. They ask, "Whose lives are different because of this church?" Nearly everything that is done inside the church should prepare and equip people not only for personal growth but also for personal impact. Like every church, externally focused churches have their problems and challenges, but they are determined to make a difference in society. Internally focused churches help individuals, but externally focused churches change the world.

Could your church change the world?