Well, it's been over three months since my last post and I can hardly come up with a new title. I've been thinking a lot about church lately, about how to reach young families and the "emerging church" in this day and age. Frankly, I've been stumped. We've had events, planned classes, tried new material and studied the issues, but in the end we still have the same people on the fringe and the same people at the center; it's a little depressing. I hear that my tradition (The Church of Christ) is not growing and Christian churches in general are not growing and I began to wonder what's happening.About a month ago I had the opportunity to participate in an event to feed the needy. My family and I went to the dinner before hand to raise money, then we went to the event itself to help serve the food. We had 20+ turn up to help feed the hungry at our church building; it was a great turnout...well, unless you count the number of needy people that were there. In the end we did have a few, but most, if not all, drove themselves there and texted on their cell phones while they enjoyed their meal (not the mental picture I had created). The majority of us helpers started visiting in various places around the building and before you know it, it was over. I wondered where all the hungry people had gone? As we started talking about the night, someone in the group suggested that maybe we should do the next dinner at a nearby labor camp, or in layman's terms, take the food to the hungry. What a novel idea?
Not one to let a good idea pass me by, I've been ruminating on this for some time. It occurs to me that what we are doing in our discipleship efforts is trying to bring the "hungry" to the church. We offer new programs, new classes, new series. We advertise, promote, and spend our tightened budgets. Everyone rejoices when that "fringe" family shows up, only to be disappointed when they are not at church the next week. Now I'm wondering, what if we take the church to them? What if we stopped having more events, more programs, more classes, and started encouraging our members to spend time together, attend one another's events, take church to the activities they are already participating in? What family wouldn't enjoy being let of the hook to attend their regularly scheduled tee-ball or swim meet. What child wouldn't love having his cheering section multiplied by other church families who showed up to offer their support? What if that burnt-out mom could feel like dinner with her girlfriend was enough church? What if we stopped trying to compete with all the events in the lives of our members and just started bringing the church to those events? What if we freed people from the obligations of programs and offered them a relationship with Christ instead? What if we began to model Christ by what I'm calling, "meet the need and plant the seed?" Does this make sense to anyone?
My buddy Jon characterizes what you're describing here as the difference between "come" structures and "go" structures. Fifty years ago, come structures worked great -- open a church building, haver services, watch it grow (if you build it, they will come). Today, in our post-modern, post-denominational, post-everything world, we have to go back to a more apostolic paradigm (i.e., a paradigm built around the idea that we are "sent" as much as we are "gathered").
ReplyDeleteThanks for your writing Bryce. And greetings to your family.
Awall
I think you know where I stand on this issue. Dad
ReplyDeleteWow! What an interesting way of looking at the issue. I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense. Afterall, Jesus did most of his preaching outside the synagogue. We are also called to be the "salt of the earth." Salt, as we all know tastes better when sprinkled not piled on food. Thanks for the thought provoking post. Will think about it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting insights, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI must say that in my experience, a classroom setting is not the place where meaningful relationships are built. Rather, meaningful relationships are built through interpersonal dialogue and the sharing of ideas, thoughts, fears, problems, and joys. In my opinion, we need strong relationships with other Christians more than we need the class on the 2nd chapter of Joel.
For anyone who is spiritually hungry, when and where does the interpersonal dialogue happen in a traditional church with a classroom setting? Sometimes the pulpit can be a few feet away but can feel a thousand miles away.
In closing, here's to spending some time with the 40% of my church that I really still don't know, not to mention the 50% that I haven't met yet. Let me know when you want to take the church to them, and I'll do my best.
Very nice Brice!! I couldn't agree with you more. Practicing the principles of Jesus Christ everyday in our own lives and sharing that with others on a daily basis in our own communities is exactly what Jesus Christ would want us to do. If you are going to rely on others to come to you then you might be waiting a long time. By simply showing those around us the principles of love and faith and truth in our own lives and by our own actions we can/will be a great influence to their lives and to the ones they touch everyday.
ReplyDeleteThank you Brice!!
Ryan Stephens