By Louie Marsh

Biblical

Obviously any approach to serving Jesus Christ must be in accord with His Word. That agreement must be in at least two areas:

1. Doctrinally
2. The Spirit of the New Testament

Doctrine does have an effect on how and what you do. Therefore it is part of my approach to ministry. I believe that it’s vital to believe what the Bible teaches – and not depart from it by adding to it or subtracting from it.

The biggest problem by far in the Independent Christian Churches today is not subtracting but adding. For example many of us act and talk as though the Bible says you must take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday morning, that that the only way to join a church is to come forward on Sunday’s, and that the Minister must wear a suit and tie on Sunday’s also!

Of course the New Testament says no such thing. The above examples are not anti-Biblical, and there’s nothing wrong with them per se, they just aren’t commanded by God in the New Testament, and are therefore open to change if such a change is deemed helpful. (Note: The only one of the above that I really think needs to be challenged in most places is the last one. More on that in a moment.)

To me the best way to be Biblical is to be Purpose Driven. By designing the church and all it’s ministries to be driven by the Five Purposes God has given the church we stand the best chance to stay within His Will and Word.

Those purposes are: Evangelism, Discipleship, Fellowship, Ministry and Worship. This Purpose Driven approach to ministry is laid out in the book by Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, a book I consider mandatory reading by anyone who wants to minister at the dawn of a new millennium.

Innovative

Innovation is the second word, and is also what keeping the Spirit of the New Testament is all about. Paul knew that when he wrote, "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. " (1 Cor. 9:22)

I think that the biggest challenge for the church today in our Post Christian Culture is how to reach out to the world in a way that they can both understand and respond too. If we fail to do this not only will be ineffective in our God given task – but we’ll also have to answer to God for our failure.

Personally I have no intention of standing before God and saying, "But Lord, that’s the way it was always done before!!" Such thoughts are an offense to God and to the creative spirit He has placed within all of us. Imagine what Paul would say to someone who said that!

Presently I think that the Seeker Sensitive model of morning worship is an important tool in reaching the lost. This is because people are increasingly Biblically illiterate, and resistant to formality. Thus a relaxed, informal atmosphere on Sunday Morning is vital – and the Minister should lead by example and dress informally also.

I also strongly believe that building the basic steps of spiritual growth into the very structure of the church is vital also. That’s done by creating four classes, Membership, Maturity, Ministry, and Missions. Each class is offered monthly and not only brings people to Christ and His church – but teaches them how to grow, minister and share their faith.

Small Groups (Family Groups) while not new are vitally important today. They provide family for those who have none, support for all, a chance to minister and are also leadership factories if done right.

Innovation also demands that we remain open to future changes that will be needed to reach our world. Most agree that in the coming years the pace of change will only get faster – therefore it is incumbent upon the church that we not become married to any method – but to Christ alone. The methods will change – but our Lord and His Word won’t. Therefore innovation leads to openness and continual change – when it’s needed and helpful.

Other Things

These two words also lead me to believe in a Team approach to ministry. Where focused on the Divine Purposes of the church we band together to do the Work of God and change people’s lives!

I believe that the Minister should lead that team since he’s usually the only one in the church who’s working fulltime in ministry and has been trained for it. This leadership is first by example and through consensus whenever possible. (He’s also the only one who can be fired!)

These are the bedrock principles upon which I base my Ministry.