Great analogies Jack. My church is a theology-free zone. We have full Pretorists and Dispensationalists and everything between. But if you commit to serving, you are good to go. God is love don’t you know. Get on the love train. That’s your ticket to heaven. I am but a lone voice in the wilderness. Repent I cry!
Good job using but not abusing sheep illustrations. Preachers saying more than they know about sheep is kind of a pet peeve of mine, but you did good in my opinion.
Good article too! I'm afraid many elders interpret "feed my sheep" to mean "don't poison my sheep". Feeding is about growth, and growth is about the good and ideal, not minimum survival. So elders are explicitly required to teach and encourage the things you're talking about.
I agree with you 100%, and I have used your "godd, better, best" ever since hearing you first use it. I absolutely love this concept. The only concern I see is that every aspect of society seems Rio be softening toward the immaturity, and making accountability the enemy; Government business and family structures are falling to this evil. Making it harder and harder to teach people the importance of th is concept. Not that I am going to quit matching on.
What a powerful message by Jack Wilkie this really strikes at the heart of what true discipleship and church life should look like. He’s absolutely right that too many churches today settle for the bare minimum kind of Christianity where people just want to get through the gate, stay inside the fence, and avoid anything that feels uncomfortable or convicting But God calls us to more than survival He calls us to growth, maturity, and holiness. Ephesians 4:11-13 reminds us, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature That means the church isn’t supposed to just maintain it’s meant to grow in maturity through teaching, correction, and encouragement. When leaders stop shepherding toward the best and settle for good enough, believers stay spiritually weak and immature Hebrews 5:12-14. I loved Jack’s analogy of the gate, fence, and grass. It reminds me of Psalm 23:2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul God doesn’t just save us the gate or tell us what not to do the fence He leads us to green pastures the best places for our souls to flourish. That’s what true shepherding is about. Sadly, modern culture pushes a don’t judge me mindset into the church, but Scripture says the opposite. Proverbs 27:17 teaches As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another True love doesn’t ignore sin or complacency it challenges us toward godliness Hebrews 12:10-11. The message here is both convicting and freeing: we’re not called to do the bare minimum, but to pursue the heart of God with everything we’ve got. Philippians 3:12-14 says Not that I have already obtained all this... but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me May we, as the church, stop settling for weak grass and start hungering for the good, better, best that draws us closer to Jesus.
"That's good enough..." is something that I've heard a couple of times this month. Some in our church want the pastor to limit his sermons to a half hour or less. "He needs to wear a watch. I can't invite anyone to church because he talks so long and repeats himself." My response..."I appreciate that you listen so closely. That doesn't happen with most people, so he needs to make biblical points more than once."
LOVE THIS!
Great analogies Jack. My church is a theology-free zone. We have full Pretorists and Dispensationalists and everything between. But if you commit to serving, you are good to go. God is love don’t you know. Get on the love train. That’s your ticket to heaven. I am but a lone voice in the wilderness. Repent I cry!
Good job using but not abusing sheep illustrations. Preachers saying more than they know about sheep is kind of a pet peeve of mine, but you did good in my opinion.
Good article too! I'm afraid many elders interpret "feed my sheep" to mean "don't poison my sheep". Feeding is about growth, and growth is about the good and ideal, not minimum survival. So elders are explicitly required to teach and encourage the things you're talking about.
👏🏼
If you encourage the best in anything (ex: homeschooling), you’re labeled a radical.
I’d fall over in the pew if our elders encouraged wives to stay at home and parents to homeschool.
I agree with you 100%, and I have used your "godd, better, best" ever since hearing you first use it. I absolutely love this concept. The only concern I see is that every aspect of society seems Rio be softening toward the immaturity, and making accountability the enemy; Government business and family structures are falling to this evil. Making it harder and harder to teach people the importance of th is concept. Not that I am going to quit matching on.
What a powerful message by Jack Wilkie this really strikes at the heart of what true discipleship and church life should look like. He’s absolutely right that too many churches today settle for the bare minimum kind of Christianity where people just want to get through the gate, stay inside the fence, and avoid anything that feels uncomfortable or convicting But God calls us to more than survival He calls us to growth, maturity, and holiness. Ephesians 4:11-13 reminds us, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature That means the church isn’t supposed to just maintain it’s meant to grow in maturity through teaching, correction, and encouragement. When leaders stop shepherding toward the best and settle for good enough, believers stay spiritually weak and immature Hebrews 5:12-14. I loved Jack’s analogy of the gate, fence, and grass. It reminds me of Psalm 23:2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul God doesn’t just save us the gate or tell us what not to do the fence He leads us to green pastures the best places for our souls to flourish. That’s what true shepherding is about. Sadly, modern culture pushes a don’t judge me mindset into the church, but Scripture says the opposite. Proverbs 27:17 teaches As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another True love doesn’t ignore sin or complacency it challenges us toward godliness Hebrews 12:10-11. The message here is both convicting and freeing: we’re not called to do the bare minimum, but to pursue the heart of God with everything we’ve got. Philippians 3:12-14 says Not that I have already obtained all this... but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me May we, as the church, stop settling for weak grass and start hungering for the good, better, best that draws us closer to Jesus.
"That's good enough..." is something that I've heard a couple of times this month. Some in our church want the pastor to limit his sermons to a half hour or less. "He needs to wear a watch. I can't invite anyone to church because he talks so long and repeats himself." My response..."I appreciate that you listen so closely. That doesn't happen with most people, so he needs to make biblical points more than once."