“The Great Omission”
Hillcrest Church Office
August 14, 2003
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Here is this week’s LeaderLines . . . .
“The Great Omission”
by Tom Goodman
Jesus told us in Matthew 28 that a large part of being disciples was making disciples. The burden falls on you and me, as Hillcrest leaders, to make sure that Great Commission does not become the Great Omission at Hillcrest.
You and I have the job of mobilizing this congregation so that those in need of Christ are reached and placed on a clear path of discipleship.
“Mobilizing” a congregation to this end includes developing a congregation’s heart, eyes, and mind for the lost.
It involves developing a congregation’s heart for the lost. Few Christians would openly deny that our job is to reach “the lost.” But how many Christians actually build relationships with lost people, enjoy the company of lost
people, respect the many admirable qualities of the lost people they know, and find ways to explain spiritual truths in a way that lost people can understand? Jesus did all of this, and the people we lead at Hillcrest are simply not following
Jesus unless they are doing it, too.
A congregation’s eyes also need to be developed. A congregation needs to see that lost people are not “out there” in some distant country to where we send missionaries, lost people are not “out there” in some neighborhood that’s vastly
different from us, but there are people who need Christ who live around us and – get this – there are people in need of Christ who attend our services.
Mobilizing a congregation to reach the lost also involves developing our mind for how today’s lost people can be reached. You can have the right heart for the lost, you can have the eyes to see them, you can have the burden for
it, but if you don’t put your mind to the work, you won’t be faithful to God. The methods and approach we use to get the good news out have to be constantly evaluated to see if they are still effective at reaching people today.
You know, sometimes I think a church is more interested in doing evangelistic things than being evangelistic. There’s a difference. Doing evangelistic things means doing things we’ve always labeled as evangelism. We do them, and
even if nothing happens, we pat ourselves on the back as a church that we’ve been faithful in evangelism. That’s different than being evangelistic. There’s only one way you can be considered evangelistic, and that’s if you’re seeing
results.
Stop a moment and think about the ways you can help those you lead develop their heart, eyes, and mind to fulfill the Great Commission!
Higher,
Tom
LAST CALL! LEADERSHIP BREAKFAST – Saturday, August 16, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Seventy people have signed up for this event! Let your Ministry Staff cook breakfast for you, too! Following breakfast, I will take all leaders through a
one-hour workshop called "Getting Your Life and Ministry On Track." You will also receive a 2003-2004 church calendar to help you plan your own ministry program. This Leadership Breakfast is for any and all leaders – if you THINK you
belong at this breakfast, you probably do! However, you MUST pre-register to enjoy the breakfast and child care. Call the church office or send an e-mail to office@hbcaustin.org TODAY!! Come
for INspiration, INtercession, INformation and IN____________. (You'll have to come to find out the last one!)
EXTENDED TEACHING CARE needs your help! ETC is an important ministry to our preschoolers and their parents. The ETC ministry provides loving lessons for our little ones while their parents are free to worship. It takes 108
volunteers to staff this each quarter, and we currently only have 54. Right now our worker rotation is once every 7 weeks, but with your help we can get worker rotation to once every quarter! If you are a parent who uses the ETC, it’s
very important that you take your turn along with other parents. If you attend the 8:30 a.m. service, please consider signing up for the 10:45 a.m. ETC. It will take 44 servants to reach our goal. Contact BJ Linam at bj@hbcaustin.org or 345-3771.