Finding Balance in an Externally Focused Church
Mark A. Taylor reflects on the challenge of balancing evangelism and social action in church ministry. The article argues that churches should not choose between good deeds and good news, but pursue both with wisdom and intention.
- Criticism from opposite sides may signal a needed pursuit of balance.
- Churches can drift toward serving society without sharing Jesus or toward sharing Jesus without serving real needs.
- Good deeds and good news belong together in externally focused ministry.
By Mark A. Taylor
Decades ago I had the delight of getting to know W.F. Lown during his years as president of Manhattan (Kansas) Christian College. Brother Lown was talking about handling criticism. โAs long as Iโm receiving attacks from both the left and the right,โ he said, โI figure my positions are just about exactly where they need to be.โ
Itโs dangerous to quote out of context, and I must admit I donโt remember anything else from this conversation. But, maybe because I hated to receive criticism (I havenโt learned to love it yet!), his comment has never left me.
The Test of Balance
Perhaps it was brother Lownโs observation that started me thinking about one of the great tests of life, that of achieving balance. Iโve written about it in this space before, but the challenge pops up again and again, in one situation after another. Nowhere is it more important to seek balance than when we decide to become externally focused.
Test and challenge are good words to describe the energy and thought required here. Balance doesnโt come easily. Itโs so much easier to let our teeter-totter rest at either extreme: only saving souls on the one hand or only serving society on the other. Arguments for each side may sound good.
Serving Society and Saving Souls
Some at one end say social actionโgiving medicine or providing meals or building homes or refurbishing neighborhoodsโdoesnโt speak to ultimate needs. โThis world is not my home,โ they remind us. โWe must prepare our neighbors for what awaits all of us just beyond death.โ
Others point to pain and loss raging not far from our own front doors and ask how Christians can ignore it. โSufferers wonโt grasp โGod so loved the world,โโ they say, โuntil theyโve experienced that love from someone who loves God.โ
But how will they understand and submit to him if Christians never talk to them about Jesus? The solution is balance. Wise and rare is the leader who helps us attain it.
Good Deeds and Good News
Last year at an Energizing Smaller Churches Network conference, Ben Merold answered a question about this issue. Ben believes the church doesnโt win many of those served by social initiatives, but it does win many who want to be a part of a church that offers this kind of service.
Thatโs one strategy. Another is Eric Swansonโs approach, quoted by Rick Rusaw this week: โGood deeds often pave the road over which good news travels.โ Good deeds plus good newsโsimple to understand, tricky to accomplish, satisfying to achieve.
Thatโs always the way it is with balance.
Author: Mark A. Taylor
Mark A. Taylor, who served as Christian Standard editor from 2003 to 2017, retired in June 2017 after almost 41 years with Standard Publishing (Christian Standard Media).
