What if...
Someone once gave this definition of insanity, “Insanity means doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.” Now, I don’t want to imply that we church-goers are insane but, sadly, this sounds like a description of most of our congregations.
Maybe it’s because we are people who cherish the firm foundation of the Word of God, and the consistency of our church traditions, that we tend to inadvertently elevate the forms and strategies of what we know as “church” to a place where they are normative for time and eternity. It’s like the comment made by the man who would read only the KJV, “If the King James Version was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.”
We look at our church and realize that we aren’t living-out the character and mission of Jesus. We’re stagnant, or worse, we’re losing members and losing money. And, because of these losses, we’re losing steam and losing hope.
We’ve tried everything… working harder, studying longer, praying with power and fasting more faithfully. We’ve changed our church name to something relevant (like “The Sanctuary”), we’ve become “seeker sensitive” and started a candle-lit and meditative Tuesday evening service at a local bar. We’ve experienced “Forty Days of Purpose”, ignited an “Evangelism Explosion” and rigged the sanctuary for satellite feeds and multi-media presentations… until… we are exhausted and we pretty much just slip back into the status quo. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
What if there might be a different way of “doing church”… one that frees us to serve the Lord as individuals and as a community… that actually brings a restorative peace and rest… that renews us and enables us to serve the Lord with gladness… that liberates us to be fully who we have been created by God (and re-created by him) to be.
What if…
Sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it?
Someone once gave this definition of insanity, “Insanity means doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.” Now, I don’t want to imply that we church-goers are insane but, sadly, this sounds like a description of most of our congregations.
Maybe it’s because we are people who cherish the firm foundation of the Word of God, and the consistency of our church traditions, that we tend to inadvertently elevate the forms and strategies of what we know as “church” to a place where they are normative for time and eternity. It’s like the comment made by the man who would read only the KJV, “If the King James Version was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.”
We look at our church and realize that we aren’t living-out the character and mission of Jesus. We’re stagnant, or worse, we’re losing members and losing money. And, because of these losses, we’re losing steam and losing hope.
We’ve tried everything… working harder, studying longer, praying with power and fasting more faithfully. We’ve changed our church name to something relevant (like “The Sanctuary”), we’ve become “seeker sensitive” and started a candle-lit and meditative Tuesday evening service at a local bar. We’ve experienced “Forty Days of Purpose”, ignited an “Evangelism Explosion” and rigged the sanctuary for satellite feeds and multi-media presentations… until… we are exhausted and we pretty much just slip back into the status quo. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
What if there might be a different way of “doing church”… one that frees us to serve the Lord as individuals and as a community… that actually brings a restorative peace and rest… that renews us and enables us to serve the Lord with gladness… that liberates us to be fully who we have been created by God (and re-created by him) to be.
What if…
Sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it?
posted by Barnabas | 12:49 PM
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