Those that believe the traditional church is no longer relevant are simply wrong. Traditional churches needn't stop doing what they do. There are wonderful churches all across this great land serving the Kingdom with distinction, and providing their community of believers with all their spiritual needs. But there is a segment of the population that believes that church IS irrelevant, and they need to be addressed in ways that traditional churches can’t.
When we hear from someone, "Church stinks, religion is a joke, Christians are hypocrites." we shouldn't be content to conclude "Well we did what we could, let's move on." Nor is changing the way we do church to accommodate the needs of those whose view of faith based institutions is skewed by prejudice or harms real or imagined particularly wise. We should recognize that for those who dislike religion, their beef is usually not with Christ. They like Christ, they just don't care for Christians. So when we encounter that attitude, many times the "battle" is halfway won, we just need to stop arguing about church and start witnessing for Christ.
The church is not four walls, a Pastor, and a choir, it's a community of believers wherein faith can grow through mutual encouragement, where fellow believers can pool resources for the good of the community, and a resource for spreading the good news of salvation at home and around the world. Millions find that community in a traditional church.
How to build a community of believers for those millions who simply will not consider a traditional church but are open to the idea of Christ is the next great mission field here in America. It will probably come to fruition in ways that discard the hierarchical structure of traditional churches, that gives real responsibility to laypeople and new believers, that regards Christian service to the community as more important than sermons and songs.
And it will likely drive the elites of the traditional church nuts. It will be chaotic, there will be heresies spoken, men and women without seminary training will lead others, blind alleys will be followed, and yet souls will be saved. There will be no leaders, only trusted servants. This new movement will not displace traditional churches, but simply reach those that are unreachable by traditional means. In short, it's gonna be a hoot to watch.
When we hear from someone, "Church stinks, religion is a joke, Christians are hypocrites." we shouldn't be content to conclude "Well we did what we could, let's move on." Nor is changing the way we do church to accommodate the needs of those whose view of faith based institutions is skewed by prejudice or harms real or imagined particularly wise. We should recognize that for those who dislike religion, their beef is usually not with Christ. They like Christ, they just don't care for Christians. So when we encounter that attitude, many times the "battle" is halfway won, we just need to stop arguing about church and start witnessing for Christ.
A COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS
How to build a community of believers for those millions who simply will not consider a traditional church but are open to the idea of Christ is the next great mission field here in America. It will probably come to fruition in ways that discard the hierarchical structure of traditional churches, that gives real responsibility to laypeople and new believers, that regards Christian service to the community as more important than sermons and songs.
And it will likely drive the elites of the traditional church nuts. It will be chaotic, there will be heresies spoken, men and women without seminary training will lead others, blind alleys will be followed, and yet souls will be saved. There will be no leaders, only trusted servants. This new movement will not displace traditional churches, but simply reach those that are unreachable by traditional means. In short, it's gonna be a hoot to watch.
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