Dating the Church
I know I'm biased. I'm a pastor. But I sincerely believe that God's game plan is for every Christian to be sold out to a local body of believers. Life is too short to be part of a church you aren't excited about. I know it's unrealistic for everybody to be as excited about NCC as much as I am all the time, but I think we need more people who are 110% committed to the church.
I gave a phone interview to some seminary profs yesterday about our church model. I said something I've never said before. And I said it pretty emphatically. "If you've got a complaint or criticism about NCC but you haven't invited an unchurched person to NCC then I don't want to hear it. But if your complaint or criticism is related to the unchurched person you invited I'm all ears." We invited an unchurched friend a few weeks ago and it radically changed the way we experienced church. I didn't preach and Lora didn't lead worship the same way. We viewed it through their filter--what were they thinking and feeling. We were more concerned about them getting something out of the service than getting something out of it ourselves. It was an about face, a paradigm shift, a 180 degree turn. I think complaints and criticisms ought to be weighted based on how proactive the person is about sharing their faith and inviting others to NCC.
Church Flirts
I started reading Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris. What a profound analogy. I think most Christians date the church. It's love at first sight. "This is the one." They fall head over heels in love with the church, but after a while two things happen. They begin to take for granted or forget what caused them to fall in love with the church in the first place. They succumb to the thing that kills romantic relationships--familiarity. And the second thing that happens is they become painfully aware of flaws and faults. Every church has them. The key to a healthy relationship is learning to accept the flaws. But some people never accept the flaws and hit the eject button. They start dating and fall in love with another church. But if they don't learn to accept the flaws they'll repeat the cycle. Too many Christians flirt with the church, but they never cross the line and commit. There are a couple tell-tale signs of church daters. They are me-centered. What's in it for me? What did I get out of it? They go for what they can get. Daters tend to be critical. They are quick to find fault. They have a consumer mentality. Church is about consumption instead of production. They go to one church because they like the music. They go to another service because they like the preaching. It's all about what they get out of it. They've never even stopped to think about the fact that the key to satisfaction is giving yourself heart, soul, mind, and strength to the bride of Christ. It's ending the dating game and making the commitment. Lots of Christians are two-timers. They aren't committed to one local body of believers. They are dating several churches, but the commitment is difused because of it. They have one foot in and one foot out. They have their options open. When you don't have a passionate and committed relationship with a church everyone gets cheated--you cheat yourself, you cheat the church, and the cheat the world.
Boy do I sound like a pastor!
I gave a phone interview to some seminary profs yesterday about our church model. I said something I've never said before. And I said it pretty emphatically. "If you've got a complaint or criticism about NCC but you haven't invited an unchurched person to NCC then I don't want to hear it. But if your complaint or criticism is related to the unchurched person you invited I'm all ears." We invited an unchurched friend a few weeks ago and it radically changed the way we experienced church. I didn't preach and Lora didn't lead worship the same way. We viewed it through their filter--what were they thinking and feeling. We were more concerned about them getting something out of the service than getting something out of it ourselves. It was an about face, a paradigm shift, a 180 degree turn. I think complaints and criticisms ought to be weighted based on how proactive the person is about sharing their faith and inviting others to NCC.
Church Flirts
I started reading Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris. What a profound analogy. I think most Christians date the church. It's love at first sight. "This is the one." They fall head over heels in love with the church, but after a while two things happen. They begin to take for granted or forget what caused them to fall in love with the church in the first place. They succumb to the thing that kills romantic relationships--familiarity. And the second thing that happens is they become painfully aware of flaws and faults. Every church has them. The key to a healthy relationship is learning to accept the flaws. But some people never accept the flaws and hit the eject button. They start dating and fall in love with another church. But if they don't learn to accept the flaws they'll repeat the cycle. Too many Christians flirt with the church, but they never cross the line and commit. There are a couple tell-tale signs of church daters. They are me-centered. What's in it for me? What did I get out of it? They go for what they can get. Daters tend to be critical. They are quick to find fault. They have a consumer mentality. Church is about consumption instead of production. They go to one church because they like the music. They go to another service because they like the preaching. It's all about what they get out of it. They've never even stopped to think about the fact that the key to satisfaction is giving yourself heart, soul, mind, and strength to the bride of Christ. It's ending the dating game and making the commitment. Lots of Christians are two-timers. They aren't committed to one local body of believers. They are dating several churches, but the commitment is difused because of it. They have one foot in and one foot out. They have their options open. When you don't have a passionate and committed relationship with a church everyone gets cheated--you cheat yourself, you cheat the church, and the cheat the world.
Boy do I sound like a pastor!
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