Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Death to Performance

A great talk by Scott Thomas (Director of Acts 29) - on the danger of 'success' driving our ministries. At the end he notes this contrast between a 'Performance Driven Church' (PDC) and a 'Gospel Driven Church' (GDC)...

PDC = leaders appear to have it all together
GDC = leaders are vulnerable, honest about failures

PDC = reputation and respectability paramount
GDC = unashamedly messy

PDC = services are polished performances
GDC = services are just one aspect of church life

PDC = failure is devastating / identity is ministry
GDC = failure disappointing but not devastating / identity is in Jesus

PDC = action is driven by duty
GDC = action is driven by joy

PDC = conflict surpressed or ignored
GDC = conflict addressed openly

PDC = focus is on appearing / looking good
GDC = focus is on goodness & grace of God

The talk starts a bit slow (our American brothers do love their extended anecdotes!) but is well worth the time to listen through. DEATH TO PERFORMANCE - SCOTT THOMAS

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