What is church?
Does it have to be on a Sunday?
Do you have to sing 'Jesus' songs?
Does it matter where you meet?
Do you have to open you bible every time?
Can it be Wednesday night instead?
Can Sunday morning be more of an outreach?
Who decides what church is?
How do you know if you can't grow somewhere or if you're just not giving it a chance?
Should church be 'me' centered or 'others' centered?
Do I have an idea about what church is only because of the way I was raised?
Here are some things we're trying to figure out as we try out some new places to belong up here in the big M. I dont' really think anyone can understand this one particular church by just my description, a few visits would definately be necessary. And even then, I'm not sure it would be a church that you've ever experienced before. It's that for me. An new experience. Here are some thoughts.
1. It is really neat to get in on a 'new' church in the early stages, because of the direct impact you can have on shaping it for the stable church it will become in the future years.
2. It is not so neat to get in on a 'new' church in the early stages, because the church feels like it is searching for direction and could take years before it has a stable 'mission.'
3. Some people in the community that Ryan really respects as solid Godly men go to this church, so there has to be something there that would keep them attending...
4. Could we even find a church that we are both 100% into, or is it something that you just have to do for a while and eventually grow to love every part of it for what it is....
5. I've run out of things to type.
Anyways....tell me your thoughts, my dear readers....really think about those first questions too, because it's a good way to decide, with your significant other also, what you do think about church as a couple. Good discussion stuff...hmmm...
2 comments:
Good questions - lots of angles need to be covered there...
And being a transient Christian myself, I must shy away from giving advice in this situation.
All I know is that Christ came to build a Kingdom. One that would operate as His Body, to impact both the nearest neighborhoods and the furthest regions.
I once thought of myself as "specially" called with a "special" purpose - but have recently discovered that God loves all His children with self-sacrificial love and commands that I show the same reckless love as He shows. (My "special-ness" kept me from being willing to sacrifice myself for His cause)
In other words, He calls me to uncomfortability, to pain, to sacrifice - not because it is so effective in Kingdom building... but because it brings Him glory.
And so I ask God for the gift of obedience now more than ever before - because all the right-works in the world will never generate enough "result" to match one step of obedience left in His hands.
Well - that's not a real coherent thought process... but hmmm... yah!
Wow, lots of questions. If I think of church I think of a place where I go to worship the Lord, fellowship with other believers, and study the Word of God. I have lots of strong opinions about church, but I have a problem if I don't have to bring a Bible or use a Bible at church. Why am I there? To learn and study about the God who saved me. Why do I need to use a Bible? Because I have to make sure that I am being taught the Bible and not somebody's good thoughts. I think Paul warned us of that over and over in the word. If a preacher of the Bible isn't using a Bible, warning signals go off in my mind, sirens even wailing that something is wrong. If you aren't singing "Jesus" songs, what could you be singing? Isn't it a time to worship God? And I have really been torn over churches that say they have to make their services friendly to the unsaved. Isn't it God that brings us to Him? Won't He use a Bible-taught, convicting, worship-singing service to bring the lost to Him? I think He has done it over the years and I don't think the method has failed. So, yes I could babble on and on about what I feel I need in a church and what I feel a church should be, but I think the place to turn is the Bible. Church isn't a place we should go to "feel good" or "meet with people" or hear a "good" message. It should be where we go to learn about the Holy God we serve, uplift fellow believers and unbelievers, and hear a Bible-centered, growth-oriented message.
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