Not the annoyingly painful, sometimes disease-ridden insect. Nor is it the first part of Tock…as in…you know. 
Tick…as in…
WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?
When my girls were growing up I have to admit there were times I reverted to the same old hackneyed phrase my parents used on…my brothers. 
Bug them enough and the words that come out of their mouth were words every child has heard down through the annals of time…BECAUSE I SAID SO!!
Tell me you didn’t use them. If I told you i didn’t use them and you believed me, I have some swamp land in Arizona I would sell you. Sight unseen. Sometimes questions are asked to annoy. Sometimes they are asked because the person didn’t listen the first time. Sometimes they are asked because the answer they received wasn’t what they wanted to hear. (All the above can be applied to children).
BUT. SOMETIMES. QUESTIONS. ARE. ASKED. BECAUSE. AN. ANSWER. IS HONESTLY. DESIRED.
Here’s one for example: What makes a church tick? Stated another way: what makes a church vital on a daily basis? Or we could ask: What gives a church life? To any reader of this blog, it is no secret that I pastor a church in Spencer, IN. Small town USA. Seemingly inoculated against the bigger city thought processes. Not so fast! We may be small town USA but our neighbor is Bloomington, home of one of the most liberal towns and institutions on the planet. So while we may not have much influence in Btown, Btown’s influence spreads here. And frankly, I don’t care if you live and get an education in a town like Btown or you work there and bring it home to Owen County, the church still must know why it exists. For while many joke with “Well, it is Owen County,” we all put our pants on the same way (I presume). 
In preparation for our Celebration/Open House/Cookout on the 23rd, celebrating our renovation and inviting the community to share in it with us, I will be spending the next two weeks probing this topic. What makes us tick? Put another way: why do we exist? I’d like to give you a preview of what God has been teaching me though the summer:
OUR PURPOSE (this Sunday and this is new): We exist to bring fame to the Name of Jesus. To save space here are the Scriptures: Psalm 29:2; Psalm 72:17; Psalm 145:7; and Isaiah 66:19. We exist for God’s glory and to spread the fame of His Name. It is not to provide good music, to look good, to have great sermons, or even to collect monster offerings. I repeat: our sole purpose is to bring God glory.
Next week: Our Mission and Vision has changed. I have felt God’s prompting to do that.
I would deeply appreciate your prayers for us. There is a move of God’s Spirit evident and I don’t want it to just be because we have a renovated building. That would be totally worthless and meaningless. I want to see lives Transformed. Question: What makes your church tick? Do you know your church’s purpose for where it is?
My church communicates its purposes clearly and succinctly at each and every service (love Jesus, love people, make a difference). Even though this church is just a few months old, this purpose remains strong, evident, and spelled out for us in ways that we can understand it and make it real in our lives. I hope that this can be maintained.
I will continue to pray for you and OVCF. Blessings.
That is great Daniel and there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind as time goes on. Thanks for your prayers.
I feel the church I attend is pretty clear on what makes it tick. They constantly retell their purpose “to dominate our community with the love of Jesus Christ”. All of their efforts always come back to this purpose.
An interesting purpose Tom. Glad you know your church’s purpose.
Bill, I have been a part of churches that had a “mission statement” but I don’t believe they had any vision and didn’t know what made them tick. Unfortunately, the church I am member of right now is at that point right now. It’s kind of like a ship without a rudder. No pastor and no vision. In fact, after speaking with people, I would say that they had no vision even though they had the same pastor for 15 years before leaving at the beginning of the year.
That is sad to hear Larry, especially about your new church. Hoping the man they get will get them on the right path and you will see good things happen.
“We exist to bring fame to the name of Jesus” I like that!
Thanks Eileen.
For us, it is the proclamation of the pure gospel and the freedom therein that Christ died to give us.
We are surrounded by large, mega-type churches that have people on the religious/spiritual ladder project.
We offer Christ crucified. Period. For real sinners…the kind we know we are.
Thanks.
Simple and direct. Good.
I’m with you on the church reasoning. We are the church, and while I know you appreciate the building, I know you’re heart. I’m thrilled God used the blessings to give you more passion to do what He’s called you to.
I’m praying for you and your flock.
“I’m sorry, Bill – the correct answer was, ‘Ocean Front Property In Arizona.’ – Bill has lost 200 points… annnnnd we’ll be riiiiight back after these messages!”
Oh man! I thought I had won something and you go and dash my dreams. On the more serious side: thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Reach out evangelism. Showing others the love of Christ and what He would do. Even though we are a small church, everyone gets involved in reaching out to others through Christ. Feeding the hungry, tending to the needs of the sick, and mostly being there for one another.
Sounds like the church being the church Ed.
Hi Bill,
This morning I’m thinking that ‘church’ should be a resource for a believer and not the main event in their spiritual lives. The insitution church has taught believers that going to church is preeminent in their spiritual survival.
We are seeing through first hand evidence and visible fruit that the church has not produced what it has said that only the ‘church’ can do.
God gives the church life. The Holy Spirit. He has been largely absent in church life because the ‘church’ is doing its own thing and following the ‘wisdom of men’.
There is abundant proof of this in the secular business growth practices that church leadership has embraced and is currently following.
Believers are not being ministered to in the church, they are being asked to continually minister to the entity that is called in our day the ‘church’.
Is this the church of Jesus Christ? I’m doubtful.
It is true that many churches are doing their own thing. Not all, but some. We should not be spending our time ministering to each other. (See Ed’s comment)
Hi Bill,
What is needed is the maturing of the saints. Outreach will not accomplish this. Outreach is a fruit of maturity, not the catalyst to bring maturity to the lives of believers.
We are down to the Holy Spirit and ministry to the body of Christ, in order to bring maturity. The five gifts of apostle, prophet, pastor, evangelist and teacher. Not the counterfeit that has been so prevalent in today’s ‘church’, but the real giftings of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible says that these gifts were given by God to mature the saints. We have to seek the gifts, we have to acknowlege and find those that have been given these gifts by God.
This is very threatening to
‘church’ leadership because it means they have to acknowledge that they are not the ‘everything’ that the believer needs. Leadership has to make room for ministry by others in their ‘church’ that they may not necessarily choose, but that the Holy Spirit has chosen.
My thinking is Bill, that this will not happen but for the grace and mercy of God toward church leaders. I think God will have to move his people out of the churches.
It’s clear in the Bible that the early disciples did not remain at the temple in Jerusalem. They left it and began meeting elsewhere.
If I didn’t know any better I would think you have it in for church leadership.
I agree that we are to reach out. No one has said so far that we shouldn’t. I find no threat to my leadership and have no designs on being the “everything” that the people need. I welcome ministry taking place.
Great purpose Bill. I have to agree, my main purpose it to bring glory to God through my writing and teaching.
Praying for you.
Any other purpose falls short.
Great blog, Bill. Our church has redefined our mission recently to include new logos and taglines. Worship One, Serve as One, Love Everyone. I believe what makes us tick is each of these three things – worship, serve, and love. Where I am struggling personally right now is that I have a philoshpical misalignment with our youth pastor. I am not sure it can be resolved. I am trying to figure out where God wants me to serve. Couples ministry? Discipleship? Not sure…praying for discernment.
It is good to redefine the church IF, and only IF, it becomes an impetus for doing. Will pray with you for discernment. Shoot me and email if you want to talk more about it.
It’s a privilege to pray and stand with you, Bill. May the Holy Spirit guide you in His perfect wisdom and God’s grace! Blessings, friend.
And I count it my privilege to have you stand with me Jason. I do not take that lightly.
I think this is a good question. What makes your Church tick. I like Ed’s answer. Seems to have an action plan. The rest seem rather esoteric and confusing as to what their church is doing. It is not about what you think…it is about what you do. It is certainly not about taglines, mission statements and logos.
I’ll be interested on how you will use this new building, new approach, new vision. I hope I see osvc making a difference in our little town. I will be rooting for you.
Whether you concentrate on poverty issues (my thing), assistance to elderly, disabled, parental responsibilty, child endangerment, marriage issues, hunger, abuse, or whatever, I hope you get out of the normal church sales pitch that if you give us your money we will give you Jesus and everything will be fine and you won’t go to hell.
Make a difference. If I can help let me know.
Thank you jeff for the nice comment. Also thank you for the challenge. I want to make a difference in our little town and need all the rooting we can get.
I honestly want to stay away from that sales pitch too. Makes me cringe just thinking about it. I will certainly call on you if needed. Thanks for offering.
“We exist to bring fame to the Name of Jesus. To save space here are the Scriptures: Psalm 29:2; Psalm 72:17; Psalm 145:7; and Isaiah 66:19. We exist for God’s glory and to spread the fame of His Name”.
A BIG amen!!!! Prayed up.
Thanks Ike. So good to hear from you. Still praying for you and Carol and wondering how things are.
Praying daily for you and the church.
Bringing people to Jesus, that’s our mission. 
Love this blog.
Our pastor is really big on vision and mission statements. Our mission is to “make disciples and change the world.”
Excited that you’re taking such a deep look at your vision. So many of those I think are just passed over without consideration.