church of Christ at 26th and Connecticut
Joplin, Missouri

Phone
417-781-2326
Fax
417-781-2326

   Worship Schedule

Sunday
    Bible Class              9 am
    Morning Worship    10 am
    Evening Worship      6 pm

Wednesday
     Devotional & Class   7 pm
 

Upcoming Activities
 
 

How To Build A Great Church

Part One

 

I’m reading a good book right now, written by our brother Mac Layton, called, “How To Build A Great Church.”  It was written as far back as 1987, but so many of the ideas in it still ring true for today.  Here are some of the great ideas of this book:


Have a purpose and persist in it. Layton points out that our purpose is to glorify God (Eph 3:21), which includes evangelism (Matt 28:18-20) and Christ-likeness (Gal 4:19). He gives a great quote from Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s:

Press on: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent in human endeavor!

Be an active member, instead of a critical one (Gal 5:15). Layton includes this great poem, called “Do You Just Belong?”:

  • Are you an active member, The kind that would be missed,
  • Or are you just content To have your name on the list?
  • Do you attend the meetings And mingle with the flock,
  • Or do you stay at home And criticize and knock?
  • Do you take an active part To help the work along?
  • Or are you satisfied To be a “just belong”?
  • Do you ever go and visit With the members who are sick,
  • Or leave the work to just a few, And talk about the “clique”?
  • Think this all over, member, You must know right from wrong,
  • Are you an active member Or do you just belong?



Layton also gives a great quote from Mel Sheehan, former athletic director of Missouri University, who said:

The great American pastime is no longer baseball or football. It’s finding fault with your fellow man. Everybody can do the job better than the officials, coach even better than the coach, and even move the concessions better than the concession man. If all of us could do our jobs as well as we can the jobs of others, what a fine world this would be!

Remember the ultimate statistic: baptisms (Acts 2:40; etc.). Layton includes this wonderful poem called, “The Work of the Church”:

There are big plans to make and groups to meet,

Things to promote and meals to eat,

Books to buy, rallies to cheer,

Projects to fly and tapes to hear,

Bulletins to read, papers to shuffle,

Big shots to heed or their feathers get ruffled.

There are hands that need shaking and buildings to plan,

Lots that need raking and projects to ban.

ERA is coming and Crossroads is here,

The brotherhood’s humming, and the workshop is near

Where you will be told by the great and small

How to build up a church with no trouble at all.

Buses are out, singles are in,

Haven’t you heard?  Man, where have you been?

A luncheon for preachers, a weekend retreat,

Banquet for teachers, and films hard to beat.

Our building’s the best, our parking lot’s curbed,

And the baptistry waters are never disturbed!

 

Obey the elders (Hebrews 13:17).  Layton includes a thought-provoking piece that illustrates what elders often have to deal with.  It’s called, “Suppose You Were A Businessman”:

 

1.       That you were never able to see all your workers on the job at one time?

2.       That a slight headache or company coming justified a worker taking the day off?

3.       That rain and threatening weather kept some 30 percent to 40 percent of your workers away from the job?

4.       That your workers only worked if they felt like it and, when questioned about phases of their work, would immediately show their tempers and threaten to quit?

5.       That after you had committed yourself to several thousand dollars of work during the year, only a faithful few show up to help you produce?

6.       That when slightly dissatisfied with some minor thing in the company would threaten to quit and go to another company?

7.       That week after week your employees would misappropriate funds belonging to the owner of the company, which would threaten to quit and go to another company?

8.       That your business was the largest in the world, yet was supported by freewill offerings?

9.       That most of your employees thought that just coming every time was working?

That your workers felt no obligation to explain where they had been, or why, when they were absent?