Be the church – Part 2
It’s strange to be old enough that I can look back at the trends that have taken place in church over the past several years. Everything from colors to worship styles, approach to children’s ministry, catch phrases, and even the baptism pool placement… there seems to be a few central events that drive these things and the church seems to follow along until something new and more relevant forces change.
I’ve spent a lot of time on various church websites and it seems that the idea of “being the church” has caught on and it is dominating across the country. It really is exciting to think that a massive group of Christian communities have grasped the importance of living out our passion for the lost and hurting. It is even more troubling to think that this may be just another catch phrase or idea that will last as long as it takes to come up with something better.
It’s no secret that we have more people in need of help, support, and encouragement in our communities than in the last two decades (at least). Are we [the church] really prepared to “be the church” in an economy like this… where things like weekly giving, new ministries, and spending cuts could dominate our staff meetings? It’s a bold move that we all would agree should have taken place a long time ago, but will take a great amount of attention and focus amidst all the other distractions.
I spent some time with Erwin McManus (www.mosaic.org) a few months ago and was blown away by Mosaic’s approach to being the church. We began discussing “small groups” and the effectiveness / ineffectiveness of how the church utilizes that environment. I discovered that Mosaic’s version of a small group is actually just a group of people who begin meeting together to be the church for each other. No stipulations, covenants, or specific time-lines, just a group of people meeting together to encourage each other to go deeper and explore their relationship with God in new ways. Because of their approach to and idea of what the church really is… they are able to break into arenas that most churches / Christians would never be invited to.
There is a stirring among many where the desire to see God’s church rise up in a new and influential way has become so strong, they can’t help but focus on anything else. What does it mean to “be the church” in your community? What are the needs that go unnoticed… that if the church addressed with a pure heart, would cause waves within our culture… not because of a drive to be noticed or to live up to the idea of doing something different… but because we have taken the time to seek out His vision for the church and to follow His lead, whether “church culture” is telling us to or not.
- Nathanael