This is yet another attempt for me to succinctly describe my shift in thinking, and the difference between some churches I've been a part of in the past vs. my current beliefs. Convoluted you say? You ain't seen nothin yet...
Typical church, in my past, has...
...said it believes in evangelism, but in practice this means overseas missions for a few, door to door pamphlet dropping for a few, “relational” evangelism (Blurting “Jesus is Lord”) for some, but guilt and lack of evangelism for most.
…been a club or a religion, but not genuine relationships. Not honesty. Not exposure.
...been dominated by comparisons and pretending. Pretending to be mature. Pretending to have your life all together. Pretending to be sinless. Comparing ourselves to others (guilt or pride). Pretending to be thoughtful (I’ll pray for you... I’ve been praying for you, rather than admitting “I blew it. I forgot to pray for you”)
...forgotten about the gospel. The gospel seems to have served as the entry into Christianity, but after that we’re supposed to reach maturity on our own.
...spent most of its time and efforts sustaining itself rather than reaching the lost.
...spent most of its teaching efforts on fluff and content of questionable value. Even churches where the teaching was the predominant feature (hour long sermons involving tearing the passage apart to teach it bit by bit) had this problem... maybe even more than most.
...been comprised, almost completely, of people who grew up in the church or came from another church, or wanted their kids to have some morality in their lives. RARELY were people there who turned to Jesus because of evangelistic efforts of those in that church.
...filled with a huge majority who are lukewarm (at best) and a few who are committed and love Jesus, but hugely misunderstand their reason for existing.
...excluded unbelievers from participating or, at the very least, assumed that the church service is where you bring them to be saved.
Why is this? Why would the church be this bloated, self-focused (not missional), entity which is, practically, drastically different than what God says it should be.
Church that I’ve seen, that seems alive, looks like this:
Close knit relationships - Relational - diving into other people's problems. Diving into your friends problems and your neighbors problems. Genuinely caring and bring the gospel to bear in a non-”gospel presentation” way. It’s a grass roots, ground level, approach to bringing the gospel to the world around us. It is the gospel in the day-to-day grind... in EVERY moment, not just in religious moments. Sharing life with others in a missional lifestyle with the intent of discipling, being discipled and involving unbelievers in your lives to bring Jesus into their lives. Unbelievers are invited to participate in the church because the church (these day-to-day relationships, not a worship service) is where they’ll see a loving community reliant on Jesus for their peace and happiness.
Gospel focused - The gospel is not something to start with and then move on from. The gospel is a life-long pursuit and something to apply to every aspect of our lives. Reliance on Jesus is a big, never ending, journey. The gospel should be constantly on our tongue toward ourselves, one another, and the lost. Gospeling (speaking the gospel truth) to each other with consistency.
It means being honest...owning up to our sin and believing we are weak, sinful, people and that God is most glorified by such people. We are not strong and mighty, God is. God does not choose the wise and eloquent. He chooses the foolish in order to humble the wise. Admitting “my life is a mess, and I need Jesus constantly”... not minimizing the cross. Believing everyone is sinful and that none are better than others. We’re all lost without Jesus. This IS the gospel and any attempt to prove ourselves worthy turns out to be an attempt to disprove the gospel.
Believing the gospel is powerful and attempting to find any way possible to bring it to people (contextualizing the gospel).
We should be constantly assessing where we are failing to believe the gospel in our lives. Our significance is not found in our work, grades, looks, power, etc.. it’s found in Jesus. This is the gospel and reminding ourselves and others of this is how we ‘gospel’ ourselves and others.
Jesus focused - It's all about Jesus and HIS glory... (not OUR church or its growth, not OUR finances, not doctrine, not good morals or deeds, not patriotism, not freedom). Being Jesus focused often leads to movements that are anti-establishment as Christians realize that church services are not the best way to reach the lost (due to baggage, awkwardness, etc). Being Jesus focused means being “all-in”, attempting to let go of idols to follow God. Being willing to do whatever He asks, no matter how difficult, dangerous, or bizarre.
Mission focused - Not overseas missions (necessarily) but finding a people group that you are ready to pour your life into with the intent of showing Jesus to them. Recognizing that this is why we are here. Jesus asked us to make disciples and MAKING disciples doesn’t mean HAVING disciples. (We often confuse 1 on 1 mentoring of another believer with the creation of a new disciple of Jesus.) This kind of mission involves radical steps... radical sacrifice...doing whatever it takes to bring the gospel into peoples lives, but it also involves simply living as a disciple of Christ in the day to day in an intentional fashion which lets unbelievers see it lived out in your life. (Seeing comes via relationships, not stealing pencils from your employer while your co-workers are watching is good, but not enough.)
