It’s better to be conscientious than clever – Missional & Reformed II

Back when I was an MBA student I had the privilege of taking classes from Peter Drucker, the well-known “father of modern management.”  Drucker is much maligned in many Reformed circles for his support of the church growth, megachurch movement.  Drucker was wrong about that (though his basic theories are still right – just applied the wrong way; maybe a future post…).  But he was right about many things, and he summarized them in pithy sayings we students called Druckerisms.  One that stuck in my brain is in the title of this post, and I remembered it while listening to Dr. Robert Godfrey’s opening address at the Missional and Reformed conference at WSCal.

Dr. Godfrey used Isaiah 55 as the basis of his address, calling it a very evangelistic and missional chapter (after first clarifying how much he disliked the term “missional” and that in reality, to be Reformed is to be missional, and vice versa).  God’s Word is characterized in Isaiah 55 four ways: as the power of the church, the promise of God, the pattern for our living, and the plea to come, seek and turn.  Godfrey stressed the Word of God as the foundation of the life and work of the Church. 

But, have churches fallen out of love with the Word of God?  Is it really studied and treasured?  There seems to be an attitude that while God’s Word is true, God has left it to our cleverness to accomplish the mission of the church.  This despite the promise of Isaiah 55:11, that God’s Word does not return to Him void, but accomplishes what He purposes for it, succeeds in what He sends it to do.

I like Godfrey’s emphasis and loved the way he showed how evangelistic a chapter Isaiah 55 truly is.  Isaiah 55:11 has been a favorite verse for a long time.  If we would simply be faithful in proclaiming the truths of God’s Word then we can have confidence that He will accomplish His purposes as we do that.  This is being conscientious rather than clever.  It is a conscientiousness that does not rely on its own strength for success, but rests in faith on what God has promised to do.  It is a conscientiousness that proclaims both the propositional truths of Scripture and the inherent plea that goes with them: “Hear these truths.  Having heard them, you have a choice.   Accept them or reject them.”  Those who accept them no longer thirst, and buy wine and milk without money.  Those who reject them remain dry barren bones in a dry barren valley.