“Church” is broken

Ok… so Bob’s latest thougths got this rant going, but this has been simmering for a while:

The modern church today is totally broken. Not, just a little, not just “not perfect”.. BROKEN.

The church should provide the following basic things:

• Edification: It is a meeting place for worshipers of The Almighty God – Father, Son & Holy Spirit. It is where those who believe can come to be refreshed, challenged, and forgiven.
• Salvation: It is a hospital for broken lives. Messed up lives should feel welcomed to come and be loved and introduced to our Savior.
• Celebration: It is a mile marker for those on their walk with Christ. People don’t have to start their walk “in the church”, or end their walk there, but their local church should serve as the touchstone of their spiritual lives and the community of the church itself.

American churches (albeit I’ve attended only 15 in my lifetime) have got things wrong. Some are exclusively focused on Edification. Some are so concerned with Salvation that they miss how their congregation isn’t really “growing” spiritually, or de-emphasize those “crazy Christian events” so that we don’t confuse people.

We attended an amazing church today. Not a perfect one by any stretch, but it was remarkable about how much they were focused on caring for the body of Christ (including us guests). They were also confused and concerned about how their church seemed to be “dying out” in a neighborhood that needed Christ. They are currently trying to invite the neighborhood into “normal” social events, just to get to know their neighbors and spend time with them. I pray that the Holy Spirit gives them wisdom in this regard, their love and warmth for us this morning was overwhelming.

So what’s the big deal? The Sunday morning church tries to jam everything in on a single service. Let’s try to encourage believers, but not too much, because then visitors might feel uncomfortable with all the terminology. Let’s keep it things simple when special events like baptism, confirmation, or new members join, I mean, we don’t want to cut into “regular church time”.

Doing something well, means doing something, not everything. So here’s a proposal:

• Churches would have a simple, short service focused on the salvation message. This would be in the “slot” of the current worship service or services. The format would be plain, the messages would be “baby’s milk” and the congregation who attended would be focused on praying and caring for those attending, and those they invited to attend. Churches should also have frequent events throughout the week that bring the Gospel message directly to visitors and non-believers.
• Churches have a focused service for the attending believer, one in which the edification of the faithful is the exclusive priority of the service. Topics would include such things as money, Bible study, service, sin, grace, God’s faithfulness, etc. This would best take place during a Bible study slot, again on Sunday if there’s room on the schedule.
• Churches would literally throw parties. I mean what do we do for the Super Bowl? If the angels in heaven truly rejoice over one soul receiving Christ, why don’t we party for a baptism? I think these are opportunities to celebrate God’s word on this earth – something we truly neglect as a church.

Author: Brett Veenstra | Category: Disciple | Comments(5) May 2007