What Makes A Dynamic
Church by Ed Pruitt
Acts 2:37-47
What Makes A Dynamic Church?
Sunday 01/05/2003 Evening
Pastor Ed Pruitt
Acts 2:37-47
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves
from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and
in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the
apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every
man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread
from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to
the church daily such as should be saved.
I read an article this week about churches in America.
It says that only 10 to 20% of churches are empowering people to be bold
witnesses for Jesus Christ.
The other 80 to 90% of American churches fall into the entertainment or
containment, just keeping their doors open on Sunday, categories.
One reason for this is that in many churches, man-made opinions and traditions
that have been handed down over the years are held in higher esteem than the
Holy Scriptures handed down by God!
You cannot bypass the need for godly leadership and still receive God’s
blessing.
There must be holy men and women who are in positions of responsibility in a
church; there is no substitute for that.
Paul repeatedly said that Christ is the head of the church (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph.
1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col. l:l8).
As its head, Christ wants to rule His church through holy people.
Unholy people just get in the way.
It’s amazing how most churches choose their leadership.
They select people who are the most successful in business, who have the most to
say, and who have the most money.
One pastor confessed to me that one of the problems he had in working with his
board was that half were Christians and half were not.
That is a serious problem because Satan and Christ don’t cooperate!
A man is not to be a leader in the church because he is a successful
businessman, or he has innate leadership ability, or is a super salesman.
He is to be a leader because he is a man of God!
That is the beginning of effectiveness in the church.
The primary ingredient in church leadership is holiness!
If a church doesn’t have people who measure up to God’s standards, there will be
problems from the beginning.
In fact, having godly leaders is so important that when an elder sins, he is to
be rebuked before the whole congregation as we are told in, 1 Timothy 5:19-20
19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three
witnesses.
20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
Man’s rules don’t cut it with God!
A church must have functional goals and objectives, or it will have no
direction.
If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t know when you’ve arrived.
A church that lacks direction will have no sense of accomplishment.
We must first recognize the basic biblical goals of the church: winning people
to Christ, and helping them mature.
Underneath those overarching goals are more specific ones such as unifying
families, preventing divorce, and educating children in the things of the Lord.
Those are just a few of the many biblical goals we have.
In addition, we must have functional objectives.
They are the stepping-stones we use to accomplish biblical goals.
It isn’t enough just to say that we must learn the Word of God.
We must go a step further and provide some steps to attain that goal.
Functional goals and objectives are essential.
A church can’t be nebulous in its direction.
It must give people goals and also objectives to reach them.
A church that is effective and successful will have a strong emphasis on
penetrating the community.
We are to reach people for Christ!
In the first few chapters of Acts, we see that the early church blitzed their
community.
On the Day of Pentecost, three thousand people were saved, who in turn moved
through Jerusalem like wildfire.
That church grew so fast that the Jewish leaders said to the apostles, “Ye have
filled Jerusalem with your doctrine” (5:28).
Their message had penetrated the entire community.
For many Christians, the nearest they come to penetrating their community is
driving to church in a car that has a fish sticker on the back window.
We come to church and say, “I’ve done my duty to God.”
We try to live our testimony rather than speak it.
But no one ever got to heaven just because someone lived his testimony in front
of him.
Sooner or later you’ve got to give them the words of the gospel.
Penetrating the community involves reaching people for Christ.
The early Christians didn’t isolate themselves in a corner and talk about
doctrine.
They got out and saturated their communities with the gospel.
The most effective evangelism is done on a personal level in the area where you
live.
If the staff does everything, something’s wrong with the church.
The pastoral staff is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry.
Ephesians 4:11-13
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ:
The ministry of the church extends to all believers, with each of us using the
gifts God has given us for the edification of the Body.
I would like to read all of Romans chapter 12 but for sake of time I just will
read a few verses that I picked out.
Romans 12:5-9
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of
another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us,
whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with
simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with
cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that
which is good.
I do want to tell a short story, a story about baseball pitcher Dizzy Dean,
whose career ended because his toe got hit by a line drive.
That injury ruined his throwing motion because when he came off the rubber to
pitch, he had to compensate by turning his foot the wrong way.
Consequently he began overextending his arm, which eventually ruined it for
pitching.
The same is true spiritually in the church.
Where there are non-functioning members, there will be adverse effects somewhere
else in the Body.
All the saints must be involved in ministering the gifts that God has given
them!
A dynamic church will be involved in the lives of its people.
Many churches are simply places where people go to watch things happen.
But the church cannot sit in isolation!
Its members cannot merely come in, sit down, walk out, and say that they are
involved in the church!
Tremendous responsibilities are laid at the feet of all Christians to minister
to other believers!
The New Testament is full of exhortations about ministering our spiritual gifts
and responding appropriately to others.
When I was a boy, I remember the preachers always saying, What we need to do is
go to church—we got to get back to church.
But those people that he was talking to were already there.
They didn’t need to hear that!
What he really needed to do was tell them what they were there for!
We’ve heard other people say that America needs to get back to church!
However, America never found out what it was supposed to do when it went, so it
left!
Now we want people to come back, but we’re still not telling them what to do
when they get there!
Why do we go to church?
Hebrews 10:24–25 says,
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
We don’t attend church just to listen!
We should be encouraging one another to do good!
Every Christian ought to be like a battery that joins with other believers and
together they increase the church’s forward movement!
As I look at the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, I see Someone who was involved
with individuals.
He was a caring, sensitive, loving friend who personally interacted in the lives
of others.
He brought joy to a wedding.
He so freely associated with drunkards that people started calling Him one too.
He met with weak, unimportant people and made them eternally important.
He met with perverse and hostile people and revealed a warmth that made Him
approachable.
We need to become like Jesus!
Next to be a dynamic church we need devotion to the family.
There was a time when the family functioned as a unit.
Every member went to church together and even sat in the same pew every Sunday.
Then as the church became program-oriented, everyone went off and did his own
thing.
Groups were formed to counteract the loss of identity in a rapidly growing
technological society.
Old people became known as senior citizens.
Kids became identified with youth groups that, in many cases, set the pace for
the rest of the church.
After a while the church began to leave the parents behind.
There needs to be a balance of emphasis on all family members.
Another thing that is needed to be a dynamic church is bible teaching and bible
preaching.
The proclamation of God’s truth by preaching and teaching changes men and
women’s lives.
That is why dynamic churches are directed by a pulpit that teaches biblical
truth and motivates Christians to apply it!
And let me tell all of you that were here this morning, if you were not
motivated by Ron’s sermon, then you are dead!
ANOTHER NEED IS A WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE.
There’s nothing sacred about tradition.
A dynamic church should regularly burst out of old methods that are no longer
effective.
A church can become so comfortable with unchanging forms that its members lose
sight of what they are there for!
I’ve heard about black churches in the South where they finish one sermon and
the congregation will say, Brother, preach another one!
Contrast that with the more prevalent attitude of twelve o’clockitis: It’s
twelve o’clock and the sermon is still going!
Give me a break!
There are three keys in helping a church maintain an attitude of flexibility.
First, recognize that spiritual life takes precedence over structure.
What goes on in a Christian’s life outside the church is more important than
what goes on inside its walls and it’s meetings!
The church building is not God’s house; the believer is!
We are an inner sanctuary of the living God!
Second, We need to be open to the Holy Spirit!
If the Holy Spirit is the One behind change, believers should be ready and
willing to change.
Finally, make sure that procedure follows needs.
To remain spiritually alive, a church must adapt to the needs of people.
A church must get rid of the attitude we’ve never done it that way before.
Could be that’s why were not pushing 500 on Sunday morning!
ANOTHER THING A DYNAMIC CHURCH NEEDS IS GREAT FAITH
Dynamic churches live on the precipice of faith where they can do nothing else
but trust God!
They are accustomed to the tension of trusting God and accepting the risk that
is inseparable from faith.
Although faith is inseparable from risk, it is ironic that Christians generally
dislike anything that is risky.
Since Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, we need to
believe Him for that.
Hebrews 11 lists heroes of faith.
They believed God and took risks. Daniel believed God and went into a lions’
den!
Abraham believed God when Sarah was too old to have a baby, and God delivered
the promised child.
Look at the heroes in Daniel 3:15-30
15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and
worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be
cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that
God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O
Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods,
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that
they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and
their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace
exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into
the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake,
and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of
the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the
fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and
spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high
God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came
forth of the midst of the fire.
27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being
gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor
was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the
smell of fire had passed on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted
in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they
might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which
speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall
be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no
other God that can deliver after this sort.
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of
Babylon.
Christianity’s approach is not “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
Christians should not be afraid of moving ahead with new ideas.
A church may have all kinds of great plans, but if it can’t trust God to supply
the manpower and the money, it will never accomplish much.
God never has a problem getting money for what He wants done.
And God never has a problem finding Spiritual leaders either, just pray and
watch Him go to work!
It’s exciting to see faith work wonders.
ANOTHER THING A DYNAMIC CHURCH NEEDS IS SACRIFICE
A spirit of sacrifice is directly related to the previous point.
The leadership of an effective church doesn’t have to plead for its people to be
involved or to give because the congregation’s faith enables them to stretch
themselves sacrificially.
The church is to be characterized by a sacrificial spirit of giving, like that
of the Macedonians, who showed their love by giving “beyond their ability” (2
Cor. 8:3;
Paul commended the Philippian church for meeting his needs (Phil. 4:10, 14–16).
He didn’t have to ask them for anything because their love abounded to him in
such a generous and tangible way.
AND THE LAST THOUGHT THAT I WILL TALK ABOUT IS WORSHIP
What ultimately makes a church dynamic is its emphasis on worshiping God.
A church can emphasize many things that are good.
Some churches’ entire orientation is around their theological distinctives.
They claim to be the only ones who believe a certain way.
Sometimes those distinctives are part of their title.
Strong biblical theology is important, but there’s more to the church than that.
When a church sets its complete focus on God and does everything it can to honor
Him, it has a base for uncompromising integrity.
It doesn’t matter what makes the program or the church unique, or what
theological distinctive is emphasized.
What matters is what God requires.
For any church to be an effective church, God must be fully honored.
Paul identifies the church as those who have been graciously redeemed and
forgiven.
God has “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13).
We have been called out of sin, death, and the world’s system into life (Rom.
6:8–11; 1 John 2:15–17).
We are a redeemed community, born again by the Spirit of God.
Unredeemed people who assemble under a religious banner with the title of
“church” are not part of the church that Christ is building.
There are so-called churches all over the world that appear to be alive but are
dead (Rev. 3:1).
Rather than being called out from the world, they are part of it—in spite of
their religious exercises.
Having a church membership that is truly saved should be our only goal here at
West Amarillo Christian Church.
In closing I would like to read to you a verse in Luke and with that verse will
follow the corresponding text.
In Luke 6:46 Jesus says, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things
which I say?”
Reminiscent of that verse is a painting in the cathedral of Lübeck, Germany,
titled “The Lament of Jesus Christ Against the Ungrateful World.”
The corresponding text reads,
You call Me master, and obey Me not;
You call Me light, and see Me not;
You call Me the way, and walk Me not;
You call Me life, and live Me not;
You call Me wise, and follow Me not;
You call Me fair, and love Me not;
You call Me rich, and ask Me not;
You call Me eternal, and seek Me not.
If I condemn thee, blame Me not.
I read about an old pastor who had been forced to retire because years of
preaching had caused his voice to crack.
Although a humble man, he was invited to a high–society luncheon by a friend.
The person heading up the luncheon requested a famous actor who was present to
recite something for the guests.
Agreeing to do so, he asked if anyone had a specific request.
The old pastor thought for a moment and said, “How about the Twenty-Third
Psalm?”
The actor replied, “That’s an unusual request, but I happen to know it.
I’ll do it on one condition, though: you recite it after me.”
The old pastor hadn’t bargained for that, but for the sake of the Lord, he
agreed.
The actor stood up and recited the Twenty-Third Psalm with the great intonation
of his lyrical voice.
When he finished, everyone applauded.
The old pastor then stood up and went through the psalm in his humble way with a
crackling voice.
When he was done, there was not a dry eye in the room.
Sensing the emotion of the moment, the actor stood up and said, “You clapped for
me, but you wept for him.
The difference is obvious: I know the psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.”
If there’s any one thing a church must be, it is an assembly of people who know
the Shepherd.
Anything less is not a church.
TO COMMENT ON THIS SERMON, PLEASE CLICK HERE.