The Innovative Church of the 21st Century

TECHNOLOGICAL TURN In this era, in order to remarkably affect our generation, we will need to maximize the use of our modern day technology. The Church has had difficulty to follow the technological and communications innovations of its generation. We are in an era where the secular world is on the cutting edge of technology, but the Church is trailing tediously. While a company, that respects itself and really wants to have the upper hand in its market, equips itself communications wise, in regards to multimedia and all technological aspects, many ministries do not even have a website. Many of those who do have a website, their websites are in a primitive state. We want to affect and impact the 21st century with a technology, a system, a style, and a message and ministry of the 20th century. The Church of Jesus Christ will need to upgrade in order to allow the Christ that abides in it to be propelled forward with present-day technological advances in order to be fully able to accomplish its mandate in this generation. The technological turn is not negotiable.

EXCELLENCE The time has come for the church to be impeccable in its presentation. I have quite a hard time to believe that the Lord Jesus living in the 21st century would function in mediocrity to make disciples of the nations. I really do not believe He would use a small boat to cross the Atlantic to bring the Gospel to America. I truly believe though that the Lord would have used the necessary means to affect the world with the Gospel. Assuredly, he would have capitalized on the cutting edge technology and advanced communications systems of our era to release salvation through the World Wide Web and airwaves.

Many local churches need an upgrade, and this upgrade needs to take place quickly. Or else do not be surprised that the only ones they will be able to attract to come and sit on their church pews are those stricken and without hope of getting above the threshold of poverty and mediocrity. For it would be quite difficult to solicit and attract a professional with a good standard of living to come and sit on church pews with chicken bone leftovers and chewing gum in a badly ventilated room without an air conditioning system in a metropolitan city with humid and torrid summers, with bathrooms having toilets, which have difficulty completing their flushing cycles. The Church absolutely needs to manifest excellence in its strategic position in this era where excellence is a criterion for success.

It is necessary to know that the multitudes that will flow into the assemblies will have expectancy as they fill up the house of the Lord. Even though the non-believers can be backbiters and condescending toward the Church, the great majority of them have a set image of the way the Church should look. In their views of the house of the Lord, they see: cleanness, solemnity, respect, and excellence. What a surprise it would be for them if they would enter a church and see dirtiness, disorder; a lack of respect for the ministers of God, for the service and of the house of God. Unfortunately this occurrence is too common in the Body of Christ. People of God, the time has come for us to flow in a higher dimension of excellence. The Church is called to raise its bar of excellence.

INFILTRATING THE MARKETPLACE Other than the saints of God that practice the principles of finance, the ministers that are mandated by God to affect the business realm need to be positioned. Those ministers knowledgeable of the principles and manifesting them by a wholesome practice need to penetrate, affect and influence the marketplace. The Body of Christ needs to train marketplace ministers to be sent out. They cannot eternally stay in the prayer and fasting meetings and participate in the regular services of the local church only. They have to go out and invade the marketplace. Notice that I clearly said, “Penetrate, affect and influence.” For it is one thing to penetrate a domain but another to make an impact and exercise influence over it.

As much as the rich had their place in the ministry of the Lord, as much prosperity and riches still have their place in modern ministry for the advancing of the kingdom of God. It is good to pray for the salvation of rich men in the level of Bill Gates, but I believe that God wants and will raise them amongst the people of God. He will raise them up to become agents of influence in the business realm. They’ll proclaim freely and boldly the knowledge of God which is the source of their blessing and by association and relationship proclaim the salvation of Jesus Christ to non-believer colleagues, businessmen and businesswomen.