the encounter

Where is the place that people go when they need forgiveness when they’ve failed. Where do people go when they need a dose of hope in their life? Where do people experience the greatest level of acceptance, love, and favor? Where do people go to be honest, vulnerable, and open?

I know the church answer to these questions is Jesus. The Bible says that His Body is present on earth today in the form of His people. Therefore, since His Body is present here on this earth, shouldn’t there be a place on this earth where people can experience the reality of who Jesus Christ?

When I ask people this question, church or un-churched, few have confident answers.

Now for a different set of questions. Where is the place you experience the least free to be honest, open, and vulnerable? Where is the place that you least think of as offering hope, forgiveness, acceptance, and favor? Where do you go when you have failed?

Now the answers become quite confident. The last place on earth? The church.

Something is wrong. These things ought not be. What kind of places have we created? What are we doing? What will it take for things to change?

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Jeff Elkins shares about a recent experience visiting an attractional model of church ::

Recently my family and I had an incredible experience at a church in Baltimore. The church did everything perfectly.

• The front door was held open for us by a gentleman with a kind smile. I immediately felt welcomed.
• The layout of the entry way was awesome. Even though it was my first time at the church, and there were a ton of people coming in and out, the natural flow of traffic let me know exactly where to go.
• The welcome desk was well labeled and prominent on the left hand side of the entry way. It was staffed with friendly helpful people; and there were no lack of easy to approach greeters with clearly visible nametags standing around expectantly hoping someone would ask them a question.
• Beyond the Welcome desk there was a room full of breakfast treats and the smell of coffee was in the air (a huge plus for me).
• A greeter identified us as visitors and led us to the Children’s check in area.
• The Children’s Sunday School Check-In Desk was also extremely easy to find. Check-in there was great. One of the workers escorted us to the classrooms, explained to us the security procedures, and answered any and all the questions we could possibly have.
• The worship service was impeccably pulled off. The music was sincere, not showy in anyway. There were multiple worship leaders, but it was extremely smooth and enjoyable. The songs were relevant, fresh, and easy to pick up for someone who might not know them. They did a great job of trying to help people engage Christ without terrifying those that might be new the the church experience.
• The sermon was clear, relevant, and engaging. The pastor’s points were well thought out and communicated. My attention was held the entire time. There were no unnecessary rabbit trails or rants. It was challenging but not offensive, informative but not burdensome, fun but not ridiculous. It was a good message.
• After the service we went to get our kids and they were beaming. Yes…that’s right…our kids loved Sunday School there. Usually a new church experience will send them all into tears, but not this time. They couldn’t stop sharing stories about how much fun they had.

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As a follow-up to our discussion about rethinking church at the Men’s What-a-Study last week, this week I asked the other guys what their church would look like if they removed all their prejudices from the past and started with nothing but their knowledge of Scripture and a blank sheet of paper.

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From Central Christian Church…

Reminds me somewhat of this video we did a couple years back…

So here’s the question(s) for you. Why do you attend church? Why do you attend where you do? Or why don’t you?

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80 years from now. let that sink in for just a moment.

now try to imagine not just mobility. try to imagine the collective experience of faith or what we know of today as the church. what changes will come to it? not in the sense of how it will decline, be filled with compromise, be under attack, or any other negative condition. for Christ will always be building the collective of His people until the Day He returns.

i’m not thinking in terms of what the church as a building will look like or church as a program. it has little to do with whether or not hymns return, people dress more modestly, or preachers dress in suits and return to expository preaching styles. these are not the essence of Christ’s body, so we should remove them from the discussion.

instead, maybe these questions will better shape our imagination…

• how will it see and relate to the culture around it?
• will it go underground or will it expand in influence?
• in a world where great distances could be spanned in a short amount of time, how will it relate to an immediate global world?
• what will have changed about denominational differences and debates?
• will the organizational and business dimensions of “church” increase or decrease?
• will a great movement of humility and brokenness sweep across the collective/church?
• will the “church” continue to have buildngs of existance or will it take on a more ergonomic feel in culture?
• will there be a fresh approach to developing people in their faith that is of far greater effectiveness?
• will continued advances in communication and mobility completely change the way we relate within the collective/church?

so many questions. so many possibilities. Unless Christ returns, He will continue to add to His people. He will continue to grow the Kingdom.

let us be filled with hope, imagination, purpose, and humility. dream forthe Kingdom!

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