Last Tuesday one of the elementry schools had there spring concert at Northwest. This is the fourth or fifth year in a row they have come here. It is really cool having the place packed with so many people. There are lot's of people who have never been in a church before other than for a funeral or wedding. So why do we do it?
- We do it because it is time that churches become a part of the community in stead of just
existing in the community.
- We do it because Jesus has taught us to be externally focused (we got the the idea from
"The Externally Focused Church" by Rick Rusaw. view)
- We do it because I have kids and I am tired of sitting in a hot school with no seating and
poor parking.
For the most part we get positive comments about the school being here. Usually any negative comments come from those at the church. But we ignore those and just keep loving people and loving our community.
I did get an email that made me pause-- and think. The person had been very positive about the use of the building, how clean the building looked and the amount of space for children.
The pause came when the person said that Northwest reminded them of the church they grew up in and it was a bad memory. It looked churchy and stuffy. They were reminded of big ugly flowers. They were reminded of a hideous pulpit that sat above everyone where they could look down on people.
Some of you who read that description will understand what this person is talking about and give them a thumbs up. Some of you will be mad, because you wish the church was like that again. Both of these emotions are the wrong emotions to have. We should be asking ourselves how the church has gotten in this mess. Why people judge God by what they think the church should look like.
We should be asking ourselves what can we do to help people see God. The real God. A God who loves them more than they could even imagine. There is nothing we can do about the church looking churchy. It is just a building. We can make some adjusments and give a warmer feel, but that is really not about Jesus.
We need to begin to live our lives in such a way that people see Jesus through us. That their impression of God is not tied into a building or a place. They need to see Jesus by the way we love people.
What do you think of when you think of the church building? Positive? Negative? Give a description.
2 comments:
When I think of a church building, I see a place filled with a lot of statutes, stations of the cross all around the walls, a priest who is a dictator and a very very cold environment.
Then later in life, I see a church building that is filled with people who love to praise God, who love each other (most of the time), a minister who truly cares about people and really loves his Lord. What a difference.
I see a building that should be used to invite the community into it in order to see that love and care of the people who worship there, and also of Jesus whom they worship. Jesus did not hide who He was, nor should we hide the cross.
I think we must be very careful how we think about the statement of the person who emailed you about the church building. My reading on this person is that he is someone who rejects the idea that anyone can tell him what is right and what is wrong.
Churches were designed to enforce the idea that the person in the pulpit had studied and was presenting the word of God. We must remember the fact that God is Holy, God is Just, God is Awesome(in the real meaning of the word) and God is merciful. Just because we have decided in the modern world that morals are not absolute does not make that true.
We should never forget the love of God shown through his Son the Lord Jesus. However, God is still in charge.
I think when we only present the love of God, we get questions such as the on ask of Senator Clinton by a reporter--"How could a loving God ...?". This reporter didn't realize that if we reject God's offer the results are on us.
The church building has a part in our understanding of God as did the Temple in Jesus' day. Remember He always went to the Temple on Holy Days to acknowledge the Awesomeness of God.
Dad
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