Sunday I introduced you to our new vision statement...”Fellowship is redefining church in the Delaware Valley, and beyond”. God has been redefining “church” in my life for some time now. Many of you feel the same way. It’s not a critique of other churches…that’s not our business or concern. We are “for” them being what God has called them to be. It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people. The key word in that sentence is REACH. That is the mission Jesus left us with. Reach people with good news about Jesus and his great love for them.
The majority of our region is still “unreached”. Many of them have a negative view of church. It’s boring…irrelevant…tired…fake…judgmental…the list goes on and on. Lots of people are “damaged goods” because of religion and churches. Spiritual abuse is a big contributor to the ranks of the unchurched or “dechurched”. This isn’t to say that we never make mistakes, or that we have never hurt anyone along the way. Unfortunately, I have had to learn lessons at others expense from time to time. I hate it. I wish I could do stuff over again, but I can’t. That’s how life works. What I can do is learn and incorporate each experience, negative or positive, into the way I handle new situations.
So, how do we redefine church? First of all we admit that it needs to be redefined. Second, we make every effort to create an atmosphere that is exciting…relevant to where people live…vibrant and energetic…authentic…and finally, a place where people are real. They come just as they are. We put pretense to the side and get real about our lives and our stuff and plug into the grace and unconditional love that is available through Jesus!
I’m really open to feedback here as I am still refining some of this in my mind. How would you define Fellowship? What problems do you see with how churches define themselves today? Are they in touch with where people live? How would you define your past experience with church or religion? I would love to hear from you.
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I’m really open to feedback here as I am still refining some of this in my mind. How would you define Fellowship? A - Seeker sensitive without diluting Gods word.
What problems do you see with how churches define themselves today? A - Great question and one that I am very critical of. I see churches today (some mega churches included) that seem to water down the Gospel. I fully understand that we can’t possibly teach the meat of Gods word to folks that aren’t even in tune to who Jesus really is. However I also believe the gospel doesn’t need to be watered down in order to reach the lost. I have watched on TV some of these people witnessing to the masses yet they seem to be afraid to speak on sin and what it is, why it separates us from an all loving God. It just seems that no one wants to “offend” anyone.
Are they in touch with where people live? I don’t believe they are in our area. But this has been a question I have asked countless times in the past 8 years. Why do people in this area need God (besides the obvious answer we would give)? There are many wealthy people who have made it very successfully in life according to the worlds standards. They did it on their own without Gods help. Why would they now want to answer to God for all they have done when life is good? How do we convince or even show them that all we have is so temporary?
How would you define your past experience with church or religion? Good overall with some bumpy roads along the way.
It's kind of funny because I was thinking today about how Fellowship church is, well, not the average church.
If you didn't know already today is the beginning of the Jewish Holiday Rosh Hashanah. Which, apparently after Yom Kippur is the big Jewish Holiday. That being said we have some Jewish employees who take off and go to temple. I was talking to one in particular who said before she had kids did not even go to temple on holidays until her son asked about when they were going to church since all his friends went to church. The main point she got across to me was how long and unexciting the services are. I think a lot of the preconceived notion people equate with church is that it is boring. I grew up going to church every Sunday, youth group , and Christian School. I can honestly say Fellowship caught me off guard in a point in my life when I had all but stopped going to church or being excited about anything. When I did go to church I felt like it was a chore. Fellowship has gotten me excited about church again. I love that we are always striving to do more, and reach more people. There is so much vision and fun going on every week. I am not sure my point here except that I think Fellowship is doing a good job not only reaching the lost but also those like me who may have wandered:)
I started off Jewish, and my church experience has been very much like that of the Jews . . .like 40 years in the desert never arriving at the destination. I even spent some time being a slave (to sin) and got acclimated to the customs of the people there in my figurative Egypt. I've been Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist, and non-denominational to name a few, and I can tell you--there are lovely, spiritual people in all of those churches, and there are present-day Pharisees in all of them, too. Sadly, some of my most hurtful experiences have come from other Christians within the church. But I still keep coming back for more, because like Peter says I say, too, "Lord, where else can I go?"
law,
I too have had hurtful experiences in and from those that are in a church. I think it would be safe to assume most have at some point in their lives. Some of the times I was at fault and sometimes it may have been others. Sometimes these experiences happen without the offending party knowing what they have said or done. We are only human and prone to mistakes.
I thank God Almighty for His example. Jesus was a man that came to this world not to rule or condemn but to serve and sacrifice. His sacrifice was done out of pure love for you and I. He felt the same pain by being denied and betrayed. Yet He still willingly spread His arms and was crucified for our sins.
The awesome thing about being a Christ follower is we have a living example as to how we shall live. When I am wronged in some way inside or outside of church settings the following verse has always given me a sense of peace. Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things, if God is for us who can be against us.
Sorry for being off topic here. I just felt compelled to write the above.
csshanko:
thank you. there really isn't much more to say after that, is there? romans 8:31 gave me a sense of peace right after i read it.
I've thought about the questions posed in this blog. I want to focus on, "How would you define Fellowship?" After a few days of thinking about it, I finally pinpointed what makes Fellowship unique....words that John mentioned in this blog....vibrant, energetic and most importantly, relevant. Here's what I mean. We really don't have to look any further than the relevancy in the blog discussion between csshanko and law. That's what this is all about! I was happy that Romans 8 encouraged law! Be there for other believers, offer advice and words of encouragement...BE REAL!! Csshanko, tonight, I read Romans 8 just because of your encouraging words and I was pumped to read about how NOTHING can separate me from God's love. It was awesome! So thank you! I can be encouraged by others (csshanko and law), right here on the Web! That's relevancy! Redefining church can most definitely start with technology. John talked about that a few months back...God gave us the avenue of cyberspace, let's use it up! It can encourage people! I have seen church websites that are stagnant with activities dating back to last Christmas and hardly any interaction. It may seem petty, but to me, that's a huge deal. That fits the category of totally irrelevant! We can't live in a holy bubble, because it's not about us! We are often under microscopes, and something as simple as a not up to date website, could turn people off. (And yes, props to Ben on the website, you have a TREMENDOUS spiritual gift!!) John is real and relevant when he blogs. That is what the Delaware Valley needs to see...not one anonymous random comment from back in March! I guess my overall point is...for me personally, I want to work to be relevent, vibrant and energetic for a lost, lost world. I need work, but if that's Fellowship's overall theme, I want to be a part! Let's use ALL of what God gave us to achieve that. A stagnant environment will be a major turn off to those who are seeking something greater.
This is some good discussion back and forth...let me lob something out there for our regulars...remember to filter everything you say through the eyes of someone who is searching spiritually...ask yourself, would someone outside church get what I am saying? Your feedback was awesome and gives me some more to chew on...thanks to all of you!
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