When God's church bites itself in the butt

The following is a portion of an email response to Frank Viola, from Skye Jethani (author of "The Divine Commodity"). You can read the whole question and reply here. The basic premise is: how do we express Christ in creative and effective ways? Jethani takes our typical, traditional approach and ... ah heck, just read it!

Not: How do we grow the institution?
But: How do we grow people?

Not: How do we motivate people to serve in the church/institution?
But: How do we equip people and release them to serve outside the church/institution?

Not: How do we convince more people to come?
But: How do we inspire more people to go?

Not: How many programs can the church start?
But: How many programs have other churches/organizations started that we can help support?

Not: How many people have a committed relationship with our institution?
But: How many people have a committed relationship with another brother or sister in Christ?

Not: How do we make people dependent on the institution for their growth?
But: How do we equip people to grow independent of the institution?

Not: How much revenue can the institution generate?
But: How much revenue can the institution give away?

Not: How many buildings, pastors, and programs are necessary for the institution to have maximum exposure in the community?
But: How few buildings, pastors, and programs are necessary for God’s people to have time and energy to engage the community?

Not: How is God blessing our church?
But: How are we extending God’s blessing to our world?

(photo by Renaude Hatsedakis)