Written by Below is something I posted on a Bible Discussion list. I don’t know how many people read my blog, but I am interested in your thoughts on this. It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately.
===========================
Perhaps (and this is a big perhaps) we need to rethink
how we do church in our rapidly changing culture. We
could make some radical changes and still be biblical.
Is owning a building and scheduling a few services per
week (that we EXPECT the faithful to show up for)
while sending a few bucks to a missionary in Africa
each month and maintaining a small food
pantry/clothing bin for the poor while sending a few
dollars to a children’s home…etc, etc., etc. really
working anymore? Are we impacting our communities?
Do our communities even know we exist? Are we doing
Matthew 25 stuff, or are we just taking care of our
own, defending our long-held positions, singing songs
about heaven and waiting to go home to our mansion?
I think we need a few brave souls willing to rethink
this whole thing, and a lot more folks willing to step
out of their comfort zones and get on board.
I talk to a lot of young people who desperately want
to serve the Lord and do His will — more so than a
lot of folks who are “life-long, faithful members of
the church” — but they are not excited about serving
Him in the tired, old forms we are all so used to.
Now, let me make clear that I am speaking in
generalizations. I know that some congregations are
doing just fine. And I know what I’m suggesting
probably sounds like it’s coming from way out in left
field. I do believe we must remain true to Scripture.
But I believe we could make some big changes in how
we do church and still be “Scripturally sound.”
I see a definite problem, and I am just thinking out
loud about solutions.
What do you think?
Jeff,
I think you’ve touched on something that a few of us see, but alot of folks are afraid of.
We need to rethink this whole church thing.
Be prepared. If you embark on this journey you will have opposition from within and sometimes from without. Some believe radical changes cannot be biblical. On the positive side… look forward to meeting new people for many will respond to the relevant, outward focused church who is modeling Jesus to the community.
Uphill battle. Worthy fight. I agree with you wholeheartedly. It is the rethinking process that is most difficult…and the opposition from within, as Brian so eloquently put it.
Yep. You’re right on and so are the other commenters. Everytime we’ve tried to implement changes starting with youth ministry, people got scared – afraid we would upset the natural church balance or something. We’ve been called apostics, liberals, and many other names. We ended up leaving a church that probably would have fired us a year or so down the road. It was a very painful experience. Was it worth it? You bet! Change has got to happen. People aren’t looking for another set of rules to follow, they’re looking for relationships. And what is more important than a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus?
And these young people you’re talking about? The ones with a passion for reaching out? They’re getting squished like bugs in a lot of our churches, and they’re leaving. Not leaving their faith, just the church. Those with a true passion will find a way to minister and reach out. Are we the church going to help them or block their way?
Yes, dialogue on this is good. Now how do we start making the changes?
It’s a radical idea to sell the building and figure out how to serve our community with the X00,000 dollars we get.
The authentic change is what will pull in people. I see our church try and do such stupid things to attract young people. (I am a young people, and they are stupid) then I see them run them off by being annoyed that 20 somethings have needs like nursery care. These surface changes are fake, they are a fresh coat of paint on the same old tired walls.
I am ready to TEAR DOWN THE WALLS completely and not build new walls. Instead, I want to be in a community that comes together on Sunday to have worship and service, not a worship service.
So far, I have no luck bringing others to the place I am at. All in all I babbel to say, “Yes, you are right!!!”
I think this is refreshing. Imagine, this suggestion from a full-time preaching minister! Preachers who agitate for change and prod their congregations into “getting uncomfortable” sometimes seem to think that change just for the sake of change is good. They discount the value of traditions, which can be worth keeping even if not Biblically required. But, I’ve noticed the one tradition they never seem to suggest dumping is the full-time, paid preaching minister whose sermon is the central event around which the worship is based. In my opinion, the Biblical support for this tradition is weak. Paid missionaries? Sure, but that’s different. And I know that communion is the central event in theory, but too often the practice is to treat it more like something that we need to get out of the way before we settle in for the main event — the sermon.
By the way, thanks for linking to my blog. I just started a few weeks ago, so any traffic is more than welcome.