I picked up The Church of Irresistible Influence by Robert Lewis after hearing my pastor, Mike Linch, reference it on a podcast. He was talking to Bethlehem Church’s pastor Jason Britt about what has shaped our philosophy of community ministry at NorthStar Church. HERE is a link to the podcast..it’s a great listen!
The book mirrors our hope at NorthStar Church as well as North Cobb Christian School, my two primary communities…that we might be a place that the community calls on in time of need. We want to be a place that people can count on and think of when they have a need…ultimately so that we can point to Jesus and share the gospel with them. In times of both celebration and crisis, we desire to be a lighthouse of resources that provide refuge when needed.
I highlighted several things while reading and have posted those notes below…
- i2 (irresistible influence) is about the great need that exists today of reconnecting the church with the community in a way that makes the church both real and reachable. p. 14
- The message of this book is simple: the church must rediscover its essential role and craft as bridge builder. For the church’s sake. For God’s sake. We can no longer simply afford to stand on one side of the Great Chasm and shout to those on the other side. We must connect. Otherwise, the greatest unabridged chasm will remain the gap between stunning vision of Jesus Christ and the ever-receding influence of the contemporary church in the world. p. 28
- I believe a fitting description for the church would be this: a community of people who stand firm in the truth over time against raging currents of opposition and who present living proof of a loving God to a watching world. p. 41
- What the world waits to see is whether what we have is better than what they have. p. 48
- The church, we believe, should be a force of irresistible influence in its community. By building bridges of real spiritual integrity between itself and an increasingly skeptical society, we possess the power and authority to be a catalyst for change and an engine of influence. p. 56
- But then someone raised a haunting question: “Is our community really being changed?” Was our success mostly an internal barometer or a penetrating reality? In the wake of reflections and comments that followed, someone read the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” p. 64
- This fear of inadequacy often defeats the faith of evangelicals. It’s why we take so easily to withdrawing from the world and our communities. p. 97
- We must reassert the words of Joseph Rickaby: “the cross does not abolish suffering, but transforms it, sanctifies it, makes it fruitful, bearable, even joyful, and finally victorious.” p. 97
- Doug Small warns, “Pastors have given themselves to ministering only to the pain of their congregations but have failed to mobilize their congregations to minister to the pain and problems of the city. Either we learn to do both or reaching our cities for Christ will be nothing more than a hope and dream.” p. 157
- A “bridge builder” has a vision to raise the lifestyle standards of his people and move his church off its island setting into a city or community. He crafts strategy, builds structure, and measures success, not in terms of size or programming, but in terms of authentic witness, influence, and impact in the community at large. He instinctively knows that “a church’s health is measured by its sending capacity, not its seating capacity.” p. 177
- When it comes to building a bridge of meaningful spiritual influence to a community, iur first act must be to ask, “What’s the story here? What’s really going on? What are the real issues, the real problems, the real needs?” p. 190
