Home Pastors Articles for Pastors MORE Reformed Than Jesus

MORE Reformed Than Jesus

By this, I mean that they are so enthralled with Calvinistic theology, that they neglect the commands to love other Christians and reach people with the Gospel.

They love their theology, but they’ve missed the heart of their God. They’re all head with little heart for reaching people suffering, dying and lost in sin.

But there are others in the Reformed/Calvinistic camp who want to see their churches grow. They’re preaching the Gospel every Sunday in half-empty auditoriums built in cities where people need to hear the truth of Jesus. They’re afraid to violate their theology, so they don’t formulate a strategy to get the Gospel out to people who need to hear it.

They don’t mobilize their people for mission. Their belt is missing some key tools, like mine was.

Strong Theology and Practical Methodology are Friends.

Thankfully, I’ve learned you can use practical methodology without violating strong theology. I’ve learned that practical tools and theological rigor aren’t enemies.

Very specifically, here’s what I’ve learned: Leverage seasons when people are more likely to gather with the church and hear the Gospel. Ed explained that every Fall and Spring, his church does a special outreach series. They push toward a “big day” and grow from a harvest in the following weeks.

We tried it.

We had a “big day” on September 23, 2012. On that day, we started a four-week series about how God’s love changes our lives. It wasn’t a flowery series. It was straight Gospel truth and theology applied practically. We did mailers, door hangers, invite cards, signs in the front of our campus (we’re on a major road).

It worked.