Here is an interesting statistic. Eighty percent of tithes given to
I had church on Saturday night. It was a little different than normal though. I was outside, sitting on the back porch of my cousin's house, watching a thunderstorm role by. The crowd wasn't huge...actually just four people (myself, my cous, my close friend, and Jesus). I was able to walk away feeling encouraged, strengthened, and provoked. I have spent a lot of time processing the whole idea of unconditional respect, which is a lot of what or conversational theme revolved around. I do a pretty crappy job of it. However, it has spurred some great conversations since Saturday. Anyways, I can’t wait to go back to that church!
Would the idea of house groups make too many Christians in the U.S. get out of their comfort zones? Would it make them have to become real? The real fear in being a Christian is not the title, it is the idea that God will single us out to be different. My greatest fear in being a Christian is that He won't single me out to do anything significant.
2 comments:
You raise interesting points. And you are part of a larger conversation than you may even realize. I recently visited a chuch of 10,000 people in MI. This was unlike any "mega church" I have ever been to. There were no signs, no neat colorful art to point you to where the church even meets. In fact, it is in a dump. And I really mean that. It is an old run down mall. I asked one of their leaders why there was no signage (we actually passed it four times without noticing it). She said it was simply a matter of their theological values. She told me that it is their conviction that church is what is happening moment by moment in the neighborhoods, not what happens for two hours on a Sunday. Therefore, they don't want to promote that "coming to church" is where it all ends. In fact, they have thousands of people in house churches now, all over Grand Rapids, extending God's reign and justice. Church discipline, discipleship, all the other things that really make a church a church all happen for them in house churches.
I think they are balancing it nicely. In response to your blog, while there is intrinsic value in just having 4 people together and calling it church (which I would agree it is), it also isn't the summation of all the body of Christ is and is supposed to be. Meaning, we are part of a larger redemptive movement also. There is value in seeing the larger picture and seeing that there are hundreds, thousands, that are following this difficult Jesus.
I am reading a fascinating book right now called Missional Church which explores these values of living and being church as a missional community, sent by God at all times, not an inclusive group that meets on weekends.
Later
Jason, good point. and I would agree that this certainly is a "larger converstation." As we had discussed, Rodney Clapp really defines church as its own "polis" and culture. The etymology of the word worhship comes from "cultus" which comes from "culture". Very interesting. It is a polis not defined by the state, a polis not designated to "save the world", but rather, a community defined by what Clapp calls "sanctified subversiveness"--in other words, interacting with the world/community from a communal church culture. While this still needs to be defined a little more, it has stimulated my thinking about our church mores, and about our attempted synthesis of church/state, church/partisanship, church/culture, church/(fill in the blank).
P.S. Yes, Tom Cruise is a freak.
KB
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