The tendency today is to build a bigger church with a bigger platform, and then to convert that platform into conferences that expand that church’s ideas to other churches. And the next thing we know, we’ve got an association or even a new denomination, and then we have centralized powers and structures and institutions that eventually become the standard for success. What’s considered a successful church today is “the bigger, the better.”
Jesus commissioned his followers to form small groups. Luke 9-10 is about Jesus’ 2 missions: in chapter nine the sending out of twelve of them, and in Luke 10 an expanded group of, seventy. Jesus’ mission was not large, centralized institutions that resemble corporate like structures.
About Corey Sharpe
Where do we get our beliefs?
Three theological perspectives have significantly shaped my Christian identity: Evangelicalism, the early Methodist tradition and liberation theology.
From my coming to faith in a Baptist church and throughout my education in a Baptist school and college, I was nurtured by convictions that emphasized a spiritual rebirth, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the centrality of the Bible. Even when I disagree with certain aspects of evangelicalism, it has deeply influenced my sense of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
My seminary studies spawned my interest in early Methodism, particularly its approach to spiritual formation. Its leaders were convinced that only a foundation of doctrine and discipline would lead to a meaningful transformation of the heart and mind. In other words, having the mind of Christ enables me to be more like Christ.
Life in a suburban culture obscures the increasing gap between the poor and rich, as well as the Bible’s close identification with the poor. My doctoral work in socio-cultural context exposed me to liberation theology, which helps me see redemptive history as a history of oppressed groups, written from the perspective of the powerless, about a God who is actively involved with the poor in their struggles.
I am now the pastor at Mount Zion United Methodist Church in St Mary’s County, Maryland. Together my wife and I have 4 children.
The Other Six Days 