Over the course of the past year or so (and possibly even longer)I have been thinking about church. I've been thinking about what it means to "be" the church, how to live out community, church based community ministry, a parish mindset church, etc. I have read two books by Francis Chan that have got my wheels churning about church - "Crazy Love" and "Forgotten God." He has challenged me to read through the book of Acts and the Gospels, and then ask the question "Does the American Church look like a Biblical church?" I have also had the opportunity to visit a diverse group of churches in the past 3 months or so - in rural, urban, and suburban settings. I don't have any real "conclusive" thoughts as this point, but I wanted to share some of the things that have my "wheels turning" about what Church should be.
First, here is a sermon entitled "Is This Really Church?" This is 58 minutes long, but it is worth watching.
Secondly, here is a short excerpt from the book "Forgotten God":
"A while back a former gang member came to our church. He was heavily tattooed and rough around the edges, but he was curious to see what church was like. He had a relationship with Jesus and seemed to get fairly involved with the church.
After a few months, I found out the guy was no longer coming to the church. When asked why he didn't come anymore, he gave the following explanation: 'I had the wrong idea of what church was going to be like. When I joined the church, I thought it was going to be like joining a gang. You see, in the gangs we weren't just nice to each other once a week - we were family.' That killed me because I knew that what he expected is what the church is intended to be. It saddened me to think that a gang could paint a better picture of commitment, loyalty, and family than the local church body.
The church is intended to be a beautiful place of community. A place where wealth is shared and when one suffers, everyone suffers. A place where when one rejoices, everyone rejoices. A place where everyone experiences real love and acceptance in the midst of great honesty about our brokenness. Yet most of the time this is not even close to how we would describe our churches.
Without the Spirit of God in our midst, working in us, guiding us, and living and loving through us, we will never be the kind of people who make up this kind of community." Later he adds, "As for me, I am tired of talking about what we are going to do. I am sick of talking about helping people, of brainstorming and conferencing about ways we can be radical and make sacrifices. I don't want to merely talk anymore. Life is too short. I don't want to speak about Jesus; I want to know Jesus. I want to be Jesus to people. I don't want to just write about the Holy Spirit; I want to experience His presence in my life in a profound way."
-"Forgotten God" pp 152-153
Finally, here is a copy of the "Church Values" of my dear friend Pastor Aaron Roy's church, Living Hope Neighborhood Church in Richmond, CA. These values really resonate with me!
1)Christ Centered - We want to promote the supremacy of Christ in all that we do (Colossians 1:15-20).
2)Outward Focused - We will live out the "great commission" as a command and not an option.
3)Multi-Cultural - Embracing and celebrating the diversity of the body of Christ here on earth
4)Holistic - Our conviction is that the Gospel is concerned with the "whole" person and that the church is to meet the special needs of the diverse urban community (Acts 2:42-47).
5)Missional - We desire to view God as one who is intentional throughout the whole world. The church can/should engage in "global" transformation.
6)Local/Parish - We will strive to better our local community in the areas of schools, housing, and over all health (spiritually and physically) of its residents.
"The success of a church should ultimately be defined by the degree to which it changes its neighborhood." - John Perkins
Any thoughts, insights, Scriptural references that have shaped your "ecclessiology" or your view of the Church?
4 comments:
This is interesting. I've also been struggling with American Christianity vs. Biblical Christianity. This is Andrea btw. I don't know if you read my application for SGM but when it asked what church I go to I said I was currently looking for one. This is one of the reasons why. I'm really disillusioned with the American church. I'm not sure what exactly biblical church is supposed to be (and nothing will be perfect until Christ returns) but I don't think we're getting it right. I'm really having a hard time with that.
What's up Andrea? Thanks for chiming in! Let's chop about it. I would love to hear your thoughts, frustrations, etc. I'm a runner, so...
LOL you can fit being a runner in anything. Yes we should chop about it cuz I need some insight!
Thanks for this blog...I was able to hear Francis Chan speak at Legacy & I was incredibly blessed. His emphasis was on personal response to Christ, but that personal response definitely extends into the local church.
I'm now beginning to reconsider what living for Christ looks like in my life and how I want to live extravagantly and radically for the Lord. This blog is helping me to consider what that looks like in the context of a local church. Hmmm...I trust the Lord will continue to sanctify His Bride. But what does Biblical church look like??? I've got some praying & studying to do!
Post a Comment