37 And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.
"Missional followers of Jesus take seriously Jesus' claim that loving one's neighbor ranks right up there with loving God." (McNeal, 31)
With this piece of scripture and this quote Reggie McNeal begins to put a mirror in the face of the church and show us just how far from Jesus we've gotten. Fortunately for us he doesn't leave us out there but rather gives The Church "a new scorecard" so that we can begin to be The Church once again.
Reggie does the church a favor.
There are two thoughts I want to pass along.
1. Western Christianity is far behind East on the proper measurements of health in the Church. We truly are playing with the wrong score card. When we consider the global Christian community we quickly find that there is a move of God happening with or without us. We've got to learn how to keep score again.
2. The unrepentant world is ahead of the church when it comes to loving people as Jesus called us to love. The reality is that God is moving in the world and many of us in the church building are missing His move because we're focused on what's happening inside the walls (Butts, Budgets and Buildings)
As we start Captivate Christian Church here in Baltimore I found Reggie's book to be a timely read. So much of our heartbeat is articulated in this book. Some would call some of our work "missional". I just call it Church with a capital "C". We've got to become a people concerned with love again. Reggie gives us a new scorecard to help us get there.
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BIO:
Reggie has contributed to numerous denominational publications and church leadership journals, including Leadership and Net Results. His books include Revolution in Leadership (Abingdon Press, 1998), A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2000), The Present Future (Jossey-Bass, 2003), Practicing Greatness (Jossey-Bass, 2006), and Get A Life! (Broadman & Holman, release date Spring 2007).
Reggie’s education includes a B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina and the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees both from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Reggie and his wife Cathy, have two daughters, Jessica and Susanna, and make their home in Columbia, South Carolina. reggie.mcneal@leadnet.org
FULL BIO HERE
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