My own inclination would be to move more towards small groups and home "churches". The problem there is that there's no way to guard against serious error and repeat the probs of any number of groups/denominations that swerved into error over time.
That's a problem because small groups often lack official leadership. Those in educated leadership have stacks of education loans to pay back and can't settle for a small group that may barely pay their mortgage, let alone pay them enough to meet the monthly student loan payment.
But I agree, a small group/church is probably best suited to launch a 'hands on/ in your face' kind of ministry to people on the street. Small groups of believers can best encourage and build each other up spiritually for the task through
personal interaction among themselves, and they provide the best setting and atmosphere for an inquirer who was ministered to outside of that group to come in by invitation and learn more about Christ/ Christianity. I'm definitely talking about a grassroots movement here.
As for taking The Word directly to the un-believers...possibly? The World has always been at odds with The Cross, and I think now that society has changed and is changing, there's much more open hostility, from all levels of society.
There is, but it's hostility is pointed toward the ivory towers in Christianity from whence Christians look down in hate and judgment on the unsaved masses. But meet them where they're at with the disarming love of Jesus in polite and loving interaction and you immediately distinguish yourself from that which the world hates.
I live in The Bible Belt ("1,000 miles wide, 1 inch deep"), and there's --still-- opposition to The Cross, and it seems somewhat worse to me because everybody goes to church. Ugh.
EXACTLY! I live in the Bible belt too, and if I remember correctly not to terribly far from you. This is the EXACT place where it's time to say, "enough, we're dusting our feet of your cold dead powerless traditions that to you seem to represent the power and love of God. We're taking the truths you resist and discredit and contradict to those who don't know enough of your so-called truth to resist what we say."
You see, I thought it would be cool to come to the Bible belt ten years ago for the very reason this is where traditional Bible values are generally respected. But I did know it meant the entrenchment of Spirit-less tradition. It was as expected. But generally, I have to admit society here is better for it. It's just that the true Spirit-filled life of the believer suffocates underneath the facade.
Point is...The Bible also warns us of casting pearls before swine.
I don't believe praying for someone's healing, or whatever, who is letting you do that at your polite request, is casting pearls. Casting pearls is what happens in, for example, the A&P threads. The precious word of God is held up to ridicule to those who have made it more than obvious they have no intention of learning from it, but in trampling it down to the ground. Yes, I'm guilty. Sometimes I just don't know when to stop casting in the hope that the word will make an impact in a hardened soul.
Increasinly, society is not only filled with swine, its filled with self-important, heady, reckless and hedonistic swine filled with psychobabble and New Age nonsense...that or agnosticism, militant atheism, etc.
...all with ailments and needs that their religions and philosophies and status and riches and reasonings can't touch. The goal being to lead them to humble themselves just enough through your polite conversation, and perhaps the anointing of a music ministry, to accept your request for you to pray for them in the hope that God will reach out to them
in real power, not just words through you. It isn't about knowing for sure God will do something.
It's about giving God the chance to. All in accordance with your gift and the measure of faith God has given you to exercise it (Romans 12:3-8 NASB).
One thing God has given all of us is the power to love people and wish they had the power and grace of the Holy Spirit like you yourself have. And the more you are experiencing it for yourself and growing because of it, the more you will want others to have it. That's where the building up of each other in prayer, the reading of the word, and spiritual worship before you hit the streets comes in. Which, as we all know, can only happen in small intimate groups of believers. Which can exist in a big church, too. It's just that the big church has to be broken down into those kinds of groups.
