What do Christian authors say about holistic ministry

What do Christian authors say about holistic ministry?

The root meaning of the word "holistic" is whole, from the Greek holos. Christians recognize that the world is broken and incomplete, falling far short of the glory God intended at the dawn of creation. As Christ is making us whole, both as individuals and as Jesus' new kingdom community, God's Spirit works through us to bring wholeness to others. We can thus summarize the church's call to holistic ministry: Reaching your community with the whole gospel for the whole person through whole churches. (Churches That Make a Difference, page 59)

One may have a whole watch lying on the table, but it has little value until each of the pieces is joined and functioning. It is the complete working together and mutual interdependency of those parts that make it a watch-not just the parts. Without this it is merely a montage of disconnected pieces. Unfortunately, missions can often follow a similar pattern. All the various parts may be present, but they do not necessarily present the whole gospel to the whole person, and, in fact, the various parts may be in tension with one another rather than functioning as vital parts of the whole. (John Cheyne, Incarnational Agents: A Guide to Developmental Ministries, 21.

Say "mission," and many think of what some Christians do "over there." The word has come to be identified with special projects and trips. But mission has more to do with the church's purpose than its programs. Holistic ministry, when it is placed within the context of mission, answers the question, "How are God's character and saving actions expressed through our church in the world?" Overcoming an inward focus means changing the paradigm for members from "going to church" to "being the church" in mission. (Churches That Make a Difference, p. 148-149)

While the traditional mercy ministries that many churches offer can be important in meeting specific, short-term material needs, they often mis-serve poor people. Ask: Does this ministry truly empower people or just provide them with a temporary handout? Is this ministry distinctively Christian, or does it merely imitate secular social service providers? And does this ministry challenge us, as a congregation, to be personally involved in serving our needy neighbors? (Amy Sherman, Restorers of Hope, page 138)

Let's think of the church as a garden (as does Paul in 1 Corinthians 3). How do we get tomatoes from the garden? By rushing out on the first day of spring and throwing seeds out onto the ground? No, we must prepare the garden carefully for the seeds. . . . In the same way, ministries of mercy will only spring up if the church is prepared for them. We cannot emphasize this too much. Fertilize and "dig up" until the congregation is ready! (Tim Keller, Ministries of Mercy, pages 133-134)

To gain the support of your church, the ministry must touch the nerve of congregational concern and speak the language of congregational compassion. Nothing will be convincing that is out of sync with the character of the congregation, and few projects will find support if they are at odds with the "kind of church" the members believe they are. (Carl Dudley, Community Ministry, page 65)

Evangelical theology has traditionally focused on individuals while forgetting that individuals are created to live in community. You can't love the whole person without paying attention to their context. Trying to do holistic ministry without studying the community context is as unwise as interpreting a particular Bible verse "out of context." Churches must learn to do "exegesis of environments." You must become a student of a community in order to become its servant. (Churches That Make a Difference, page 257)

How do you look at your community? Opportunity for or obstacle to change? "Field white unto harvest" or wasteland? Us vs. Them? Babylon or New Jerusalem? A place to embrace or a plague to avoid? How can you look at your community from God's perspective, and in so doing, make a difference in your world? (Phil Olson, "The Eyes Have It: How to Find Out Your Church's Holistic Ministry")

Throughout my experience I see a wide variety of organizing styles that work, but a "non-planning" style never helps. (Carl Dudley, Community Ministry, page 176)

Finding out what God wants your congregation to do in holistic ministry is a risky adventure. You will be stretched, have your resources strained, and experience your faith strengthened. As one writer has said, "Faith is moving to the edge of the darkness and then taking one more step." (Phil Olson, "The Eyes Have It: How to Find Out Your Church's Holistic Ministry")

One of the best ways to build members' support for a holistic ministry vision is to get them involved in doing ministry. A poster in Spanish on the wall of the New Creation Community Center summarizes this approach. Translated, it reads: "Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. If I do it, I understand." (Churches That Make a Difference, page 277)

There's no magic formula for leading a congregation into holistic ministry. Models of holistic ministry are not meant for us to replicate in cookie-cutter fashion. Building up a congregation is like building a house. Every house must be built according to some basic principles, yet no two houses are exactly the same. (Phil Olson, "How to Take a Congregation and Lead it into Holistic Ministry")

Holistic ministry is God's plan and promise for every church and every community. Embrace this assurance as you seek to catch a vision of the wonderful works of ministry God has already ordained for your church. Every church starts in a different place, and goes through a different process of working toward the goal. But the most important question is whether your church trusts the Spirit to be its guide and to bring the walls down. (Churches That Make a Difference, page 270)

Just as our individual calling to be holy leads us into a lifelong journey of sanctification, the church's call to holistic ministry is an unfolding transformational process as God matures, refines, and prunes His people for His purposes. That is why Christians are called disciples. The word ‘disciple' comes from the same root in the Greek as ‘learner.' The task of learning about God and learning to do God's mission in the world is never completed. But by grace, God works through us while God is still working on us. (Churches That Make a Difference, page 300)

Where are our Nehemiahs who will let God dream his dreams in them? Where are our Nehemiahs who will give up the comforts of the king's court to live among their oppressed brothrs and sisters, to share in their sufferings, to work together with them to brign justice to the land? Where are our Nehemiahs who will act though the future is uncertain? Who will not let their enemies, however ominous their threats, distract them from the task, because God has called them to do it? I believe that throughout our nation and around the world there are men and women whom God is calling to just such a task. (John Perkins, Restoring At-Risk Communities, page 70-71)

Life-threatening conflict occurs when people lose sight of the vision to which God has called them. Life-giving conflict is a deeper understanding and commitment that grows out of a significant disagreement. The change process, by its very anture, creates conflict. A congregation with a high level of spiritual and relational vitality can accept change and manage conflict in ways that give life. (Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, and James H. Furr, Leading Congregational Change, pages 8-9)

Congregational transformation is a balancing act in many different respects. Change leaders will be pulled between the daily demands of managing the congregation's routine activities and the need to devote considerable time to the long-term change process. We may see great leaders and wonder how they do it, but the truth is that God has placed tremendous capability in each of us. (Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, and James H. Furr, Leading Congregational Change, page 158)

The place to start getting acquainted with God's heart is His word. Many people are surprised to learn that over 400 verses in the Bible speak of God's concern for the poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged. As we realize just how frequently Scripture emphasizes our obligation to love our needy neighbors, we will repent of the times when we have loved only with "words or tongue" but not with "actions and in truth" (see 1 John 3:18). (Amy Sherman, Restorers of Hope, pages 105, 107)

The more that Christians are solidly grounded in the Word, the greater their openness to the voice of the Holy Spirit calling them into mission. A holistic approach to discipleship sees spiritual growth and service as an interlocking spiral. Study and devotion should foster active obedience, and the experience of carrying out God's mission in the world deepens our desire to know God better. David Apple of Tenth Presbyterian Church summarizes the relationship between study and action: "Christians need to know what they're doing. And Christians need to do what they know." (Churches That Make a Difference, page 171)

For our service to become truly holistic, we must first offer our lives to God. God does not just want our time or our money. God is looking for Christians who will dedicate their whole selves to the love of the Lord. Without this passionate love affair with God at the root of our service, we may do good deeds, but their ultimate value, both to others and to ourselves, will be limited. (Churches That Make a Difference, page 130)

Prayer equips us for action. Many of us tend to eagerly run out to take on the world's needs without first consulting with the one who can meet those needs. We cannot be effective in God's work unless we first get our directions from God. though prayer equips us for action, it is never a substitute for action. Prayer, to be effective, must include a readiness to act. (John Perkins, Restoring At-Risk Communities, page 66)

It is not only people that we must view holistically, but we must see the church that way as well. We must recognize that worship, fellowship, evangelism, teaching, and mercy live in a balance and grow together. We see how shortsighted it is simply to "paste" ambitious mercy programs onto a church that is not growing in these various dimensions. Instead, mercy ministry must grow at the pace of the church. (Tim Keller, Ministries of Mercy, pages 208, 210)

Seeing the Heavenly Restorer's miracles does fire us up to worship Him who alone is able to do beyond all that we ask or imagine. This must be our ultimate purpose - to bring about a restoration that leads us, and those we serve, to praise and worship King Jesus from atop the wall of rebuilt lives. (Restorers of Hope, page 242)

Is God calling you and your congregation? Your church can proclaim the Good News, comfort the afflicted, build up the cities, and repair the cyclic devastations of broken communities. If you are willing in obedience and trust to take the first small step - and then the next and the next - God will take care of the big picture. The God of the Bible wants it. Our hurting society needs it. In the power and love of the Spirit, we can do it. (Churches That Make a Difference, page 314)