A constructive by post Michael Kruger about a constantly challenging subject: when mercy ministry changes from being a means by which the church’s mission is expressed and actually becomes the total of the church’s mission.
We must help others.
But that help must be Christ-centered.
Last year mgpc held an appeal to provide Bibles to a partner church.
This year we’ve conducted an appeal for food aid.
Both appeals have raised similar amounts.
This is because we’re learning that Gospel work involves caring for people soul and body, not one or the other.
An excerpt:
This “Christ-centered” focus is particularly evident when it comes to how we preach. We don’t want our preaching to turn into just the standard “do” sermons that invite a moralism that undermines the truths of the gospel. The center of our preaching must always be the redemptive work of Christ.
Amen.
But, here is where a key question arises. If our ministries are to have a Christ-centered focus, then have we applied this focus equally to all our ministries?
This seems like a particular good question to ask when we consider mercy ministry. During the last generation, there has been an ever-increasing focus on helping those in need—assisting the poor, feeding the hungry, etc. These good works, we are told, are critical if we are to show the world that our faith is real.
But, if there is any ministry that we want to make sure is really-Christ centered, then surely it is this one. Why? Because the ministry itself is about doing good works, and thus is particularly vulnerable to morphing into a moralistic crusade void of the gospel.
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