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Vibrant congregations have learned to look outward. They understand that they are missional
entities, not institutions with a mission statement. I cannot stress this too
much. Most congregations at one time or
another in their lifetimes, find themselves talking to and listening to only
themselves. Self-talk, no matter how loving, soon becomes talk about how to
maintain the status quo, how to keep the organization going. They lose track of
the world around them, and soon begin to feel helpless to know where even to begin
reaching out. They don’t know their
neighborhoods, nor do their neighborhoods know them. They also don’t connect with other churches,
don’t develop any kind of wider connections that give them a mirror through
which to look at themselves. So they usually
have inaccurate pictures both of who they are and of the world around them. |
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