Discussion forum

Religion Religion Various models of ministries are present in the New Testament and have been highlighted in the book, Ministry bythe Book. In the book, Tidball (2008) has focused on different aspects of church ministries and how they have worked alongside varying cultures and times. Tidball (2008) has classified ministry during oppressive cultures and those under kingdoms in separate parts of the chapters explaining the difference in their working across time and culture. Hence, models for ministry and church leadership have been influenced by a culture-driven approach. Many models of church leadership have been explained by Tidball (2008) as they were written in the letters constituting the gospels. Wiersby (2007) strongly bases his book on the derivation of church leadership by the words of God as written in the gospels so that one is able to truly serve God and serve the real purpose. The culture is an important component when considering the functionality of church leadership and how models have operated during times of different cultural dominance. One thing to note is the idea of gospels setting the direction for the churches as they operate ministries and leadership endeavors. This idea is evident in Dever and Alexander (2005) who say that a deliberate move should be taken in order to ensure that the church is functioning in a healthy manner such that it benefits the people and above all, serves God.
2) Church ministries are greatly influenced by the cultures in which operate and this why many pastors employ a culture driven approach to ministries. The culturally driven approach focuses on the environmental norms and the prevailing set of attitudes. However, the most important thing is the centrality of church ministries around the gospel which guides the direction of leadership work and pastoral care. A few of my local church involved in pastoral care and leadership employs a culturally driven approach to dealing with pastoral leadership. It ultimately focuses on the prevailing culture and then sets the practices that would help them attain outreach among the people. Growth and acceptance among the population is triggered through worldly forms of restoration. Modern forms of amusement are also incorporated as they comprise today’s culture in a highly dynamic and liberal society. This is to say, modern forms of entertainment are mixed with spirituality in order to introduce a culturally driven approach to ministry that recognizes modernity’s impact on church working. However, this approach is very superficial as it is driven by the concept of reaching a base by employing worldly techniques. Hence, the culturally driven approach is fairly worldly in nature because it tends to mix worldly forms of entertainment in order such as music, life, media, and so on, in order to gain an audience. This strategy mixes spirituality with modern notions of entertainment as it is in the popular culture. These culturally driven churches take the environmental forces quite seriously in advocating their following and gaining an outreach among the masses.
References
Dever, M. and Alexander, P. (2005). The Deliberate Church. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.
Tidball, D. (2008). Ministry by the Book. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic.
Wiersbe, W. (2007). On Being a Servant of God. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.