The Confusing Church

I hate it when I walk into a bookstore and see the book I have been thinking about writing already on the shelf. This has happened to me twice in the last week. Of course I don't yet have the credentials or resources these other authors have. Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger have written a new book with a very simple cover and a very simple name, Simple Church.

For too long church has been confusing. We have a program for every want, desire, and intuition. I actually think it is funny that there are weight loss programs in church. Don't get me wrong, I could lose a few pounds myself. I just wonder what the church is trying to accomplish. Perhaps the church should focus on making disciple regardless of their shape around the midsection.

Of course if we have the right mission statement and vision statement and purpose statement and values and programs and staff and facility and...and...and... then we would be a successful church. People have busy schedules as it is and our solution is to have 9 programs every week for someone in the family to attend. Maybe if we weren't so busy driving to and from church programs we could actually take the time to learn our neighbors names. Let's not get carried away though, that might actually present us with an opportunity to talk about Jesus with someone.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I have to stop writing because I have a small group meeting and an elder meeting and... and...and...and... to go to.

Witnessing Frustration

I just finished speaking with some JW's and I am frustrated. This is the third time they have been to our house, and I always invite them in and talk to them. This time they evidently knew what they were in for. My wife spoke with them the first two times without me. The second time she made one of them cry. I think it was actually a good thing because this time that girls aunt and another lady who had been to our house before came.

I know their hearts are hardened, and I know the chances of them believing the truth are slim, still unless something changes they are headed to hell. Although I have spoken with JW's on a variety of occasions, this time was significantly more frustrating. I think this time I saw just how tightly the organization grips these people and suffocates them. They are manipulative and conniving.

Part of me wonders if it is even worth it to talk to them, but on the other hand if I don't who will?

Rebel With A Cause

I have a rebelious streak in me. Somehow through my life I have managed to stay out of big trouble, but I have a tendacy to question everything. If I am told not to do something the first thing I want to do is find out why. When I am told to keep my arms inside the rollercoster I immediately wonder exactly what would happen if I didn't. Fortunately my son Joash also has this tendency.

Yes, I did intend to say fortunately. While it is true this characteristic has gotten me into trouble and perhaps it is the very same characteristic that got all of mankind in trouble in the Garden of Eden, it is also true that this desire to test everything has served me well. My desire to question things and to occasionally rebel against the rules because they didn't live up to my standards has also given me a passion for the greatest rebel of all time. Yes, I am talking about Jesus!!

Perhaps it is time Christians stopped following all the rules. Maybe we should begin to question what society and sometimes our churches are shoving down our throat. Jesus did, it was this very thing the Pharicees hated about Him. This guy never accepted the rules just because they were written down, He questioned everything and according to the Pharisees He even broke the rules on several occasions. Maybe when we ask the questions, "What Would Jesus Do?" we will come to a different conclusion.

Jesus would not buy into the stupidity of tolerance (better discribed as blind acceptance), the itiacy of political corectness, and the flat out insanity of valuing everyones opinion about everything. Jesus never changed who He was or what He believed because someone didn't like it or because someone might be "offended."

There goes my rebelious streeking all over the place again, sorry about that, sort of!!

Dear Christian...

Dear Christians,

It is with gladness that I call you Christian. It is with joy that I look forward to eternal fellowship with you, but it is with sadness and disappointment that I write this letter. Some of you have been crying for relevance on the part of the church. No doubt this is sometimes a needed cry. Many times it is not.

People want a church that is relevant, one that speaks to them, ministers to them, and feeds them. If the church is full of lambs who cannot fend for themselves then perhaps this is what is needed. If, however, the church is full of warriors in God's army then perhaps it is time Christians took on some of these responsibilities for themselves.

The church only becomes irrelevant when the Christians who make up the church become irrelevant. The church is not made up of pastors and elder boards, it is made up of individual people. These people/missionaries have been given the same mission the pastor and elder board have been given. That mission is to make disciples. I wonder what you have done, Christian, to participate in and accomplish this great mission. Do you carry with you the message of Christ? When you see your neighbor do you see a person who desperately needs the church? Do you simply hand out Bibles hoping those who receive them will read them? Do you see people in need and simply pray that someone will help them, someone other then you? Are you unwilling to take the risk necessary to do what God has commanded?

I know, the church is irrelevant, but it is not irrelevant because of organ music and old programs that don't work anymore. The church does not become relevant by lighting candles, playing guitars, and using clever video clips. There is no magic wand to be waved or magic chant to be recited in the form of prayer. There is only you, Christian.

Have you become irrelevant? There are real people with real questions and confusions. They are waiting for someone, anyone to help them see and understand the relevance of God and His kingdom. They desperately want to understand the gospel, have you taken the time to share it? Are you willing or unwilling to follow the commands of God?

The church is only as relevant or irrelevant as the Christians who make it up.

P.S.

I have not read the book Dear Church and this is not a response to that book. It is a play on the title and response the criticism directed at the church often by those who make it up. I have grown tired of hearing Christians tear down the church claiming it is irrelevant. I have grown tired of listening to people claim they have the next great program when all the church needs is to actually do what God has asked us to. If the church is made up of Christians then Christians are the only ones who can make the church relevant.

Biblical Church Growth

Over the past 10+ years of ministry I have been caught up in too many church growth programs, books, and ideas. When it comes down to it, the power of church growth (especially conversion growth) is not found in new innovative ideas or church growth programs, it is found in the gospel itself (Rom. 1:16-17).

Maybe I am simple minded and maybe I will never live up to the exponential growth gurus, but I must preach Christ. As a church planter I have made several observations about culture and church culture. These observations have caused me to consider the method I will use to grow our budding congregation. These are my observations:

• What church culture wants and what secular culture wants out of church are very different things.
• Culture overall is very consumer driven. This is especially true when it comes to church culture. We want a program for every ich we might have. This is very difficult for small churches (I am not complaining about the big churches, but to be honest I cannot and should not compete.)
  
• Most "churched" people are not missional in their personal life. The great mission (comission) is often considered something for the church rather then something for the individual.
• Most "unchurched" people want to hear solid, biblical, and even theological preaching.
• Most "churched" people need that kind of preaching.
• Most "churched" people want creativity rather then substance.
• My last observation is perhaps the most important. THE GOSPEL IS ALWAYS RELEVANT AND NEEDED BY BOTH THE CHURCHED AND THE UNCHURCHED.