Is it Church or Christ

"Jesus doesn't call us to attract people to our churches. He calls us to minister the gospel through which He attracts people to Himself. This is what men have forgotten today: the inherent power of the cross to draw people to Jesus!”  John Barber - From the book My Almost for His Highest




What is our motivation when we talk to people about Church ? Do we focus on our Church as a great place to bring up children,have a relevant practical message , contemporary music etc... Do we invite people to our Church or to Christ. I'm not against inviting people to a Church service but the hope would be they hear the gospel clearly preached . 


The task of every Christian is not to "preach" the Church but to preach Christ and Him crucified. The Church is the secondary result of someone repenting and trusting in Jesus. By blurring the message we need to get out about the Cross of Christ ,we show how little we actually know about the gospel and the call,purpose of the Church itself. 


Anyone who comes to Christ will desire to be with God's people. They will hunger for the word to be preached , participate in the Lords table and worship together. Getting people to Church should not be our primary goal but to proclaim  the saving power of the cross . Jesus Christ must remain at the heart of our witness . 


The book this quote is taken from looks very interesting. I hope to get it,read it and feature some the writers insights in the future .