What training does the church really need the most? This is a question I have asked all across the church as I have traveled speaking at different places. I have asked it of Bishops, local church staff, lay leaders, and other clergy - what does the church need? There are all kinds of different answers. From a lot of people I get two topics: one the church needs training in evangelism. We need to reach new people for Christ and do it effectively. Secondly, we need better preaching. A lot of church leaders describe contemporary preaching today as ‘terrible’. I don’t know if it is necessarily that bad, but there is a lot of criticism of the worship and preaching that is happening.
We are presenting an Evangelism Conference and Preaching Academy in Arlington, Texas right after Easter on May 2-4. We have fantastic speakers including John Ed Mathison, Jim Moore, and many others. The problem with training is that, although we need it, it is hard to admit that we do need it. Though there are books written and workshops, and conferences offered we are so busy, or we do not have the income to purchase a book or attend a conference, we don’t do the training and the effectiveness does not improve. Sometimes it seems like we have to go through a crisis to make the changes that we need to make as simple as they may be sometimes.
Maybe the crisis the church is going through is a result of us not knowing how to do the work of God’s church in an effective way. I believe we must do what is necessary to serve God in the most effective way possible!
