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When you talk to church leadership about their target demographic a common answer is: “We believe in casting a wide net.” Obviously this a continuation of Christ’s fishers-of-men analogy and it is commonly paired with a misrepresentation of 1 Corinthian 9:22 in which Paul states “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”  The thing that has to be understood is that, while Paul most definitely practiced what he preached in this arena, he do not do so all at once. He was not ALL things to ALL men ALL at the same time.  If you read passage in it entirety you find that Paul says,

“To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.”

When I read this I think one truth stands out clearly: Paul never cast a wide net.  When his target demographic was the Jews, he cast a laser-beam-of-a-net that was tailored specifically for “catching” Jews. When he wanted people “under the Law” to hear about Jesus, he switched tactics and made an appeal to them in way that was most effective for them.  When he came in contact with “those not having the Law”, he again interacted with them in ways that made the message of Christ most clear to them.

I can’t help but draw the conclusion that, had Paul adopted a less pin-pointed approach, his outcomes would have been far less successful.  If he had adopted the same methods as the majority of modern churches he would have tried to “catch” all of the different people groups with that one “wide net.”  Can you imagine the results of Paul’s efforts if he had approached “those under the Law” in the same exact way he approached “those not having the Law.”  In reality they would have probably stoned him, which I’m pretty sure constitutes failure to reach them.

So my encouragement for you today is: STOP! Take the time to seek God and find out who HE wants you to reach right now.  Then find the most effective way to reach that, and only that, group of people.  I trust that God will give you the exact “net” that you need to “catch” exactly the “fish” he desires.

to be continued…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 9:32 am and is filed under Demographics, Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.