I want a church that does not serve christians!

Saturday 8 March 2008


OK before you get strung up on the title and shoot me down for being a, Anti-Christian godless atheist let me explain!


When most people think of church you think of an old building, old people and old customs, or maybe a new building, young people with hands raised and shaking, barking, crying, flag waving?


If you do, thats the problem, church should not be any of that, church is the people, the body of christ going out in t0 our communitys, friends and making change or difference.


DAvid Horrox writes "The church should stop mimicking the surrounding culture and become an alternative community," WOW! its true! Here in Northern Ireland if youve been to one baptist church, youve been to them all, one presbyterian, methodist, evanjelical etc. you get the point.
Yes ok, there are a few that stand out and this is what i want to get at!
ONLY presbyterians go to a presbyterian church
ONLY baptists go to the baptist church
ONLY methodists go to the methodist church
WHERE to non christians go?
Does this no TOTALLY defy the point of being christians?
David Horrox then goes on to say "churches would no longer place primary emphasis on programs to serve members"
Lets put on dance events, get DJ's in!
Lets put on rock events and get bands in!
Lets go to a random building and put on counceling services.
Lets go to community groups in the council estates and put on video projects!
Lets go to other non christian youth groups, local youth football teams and get irish league footballers to teach skills etc, go bowling, organise fundraisers so they can buy thier own kit!
A while ago a group of people and myself put a dream of opeing a coffee sho[p into practice and did it. When we were looking at locations Stevie (the driving force of the project) told us about the planing service maps of newtownards. (The town we live in) On the map there are black squares wih the words "DEAD FRONTAGE" written on them, when looking closer we realised under those squares are churches!
It is called dead frontage because of the fact the building in ONLY open on a sunday. how wrong is that?? In what way is that church impacting the community or supplying a service?
Ed Stetzer and David Putman in their book, "Breaking the Missional Code" they talk about a shift of thinking!
Here are a few examples:
From programs to processes
From models to missions

From professional to passionate
From seating to sending
From monuments to movements

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post, I am almost 100% in agreement with you