crtwhlfrchrst
September 2nd, 2004, 03:59 PM
Here is something interesting and challenging I found on a website today called xxxchurch.com:
As many of you can tell from this website, XXXchurch is about change, it is about honesty and it is about being real. These are some things that the church today struggles with. We cannot change and keep up with the things of the world, we are not honest with one another and the things we talk about and the things we do just do not seem real.
The church needs to get out of its fancy buildings, its mega campuses and make believe worlds and "get in the gutter". The purpose of the church is not to create safe places; the purpose of the church is to serve the world. The truth of the matter is that the center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world! It’s time for the church and for believers to "get in the gutter". We have fallen asleep and it is time for a wake up call.
I am reading An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus and he makes some prolific points about the church that I want to share with you. If you don’t go to church, the things he says are probably the reasons why and if you so go to church or lead a church, listen up!
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We have chosen standardization over uniqueness. We have chosen predictability over surprise.
The church is influenced by the world around her and called to influence the world in which she exists.
When relationships become stagnant and the community of Christ closes itself to the outside world, the result is an institution rather than a movement
Over the past forty years, the communities around many churches have changed dramatically, yet the church has stayed the same. Somewhere in the community’s transformation, the church disconnected.
The church must acclimate to a changing world, or she will destine herself to irrelevance or even extinction.
The more one focuses on one’s own living, the less one is concerned about giving life to others.
The church must always strive to be giving birth to the future.
Once survival has become our supreme goal, we have lost our way.
The purpose of the church cannot be to survive or even to thrive but to serve.
The life of the church is the heart of God. The heart of God is to serve a broken world.
When the church refuses to serve the world, she begins to waste away.
The real tragedy is not the churches are dying but that churches have lost their reason to live.
The reality was that pastors were being equipped to preserve the past rather that to create the future.
Seminaries were producing pastors who were ready for the pulpits but not for the challenge.
We spent million of dollars preserving our music and hymnals rather that creating worship that expresses the culture in which we live.
The church began to realize that our home turf had become our mission field and very few were called to missions.
The church became a fortress from the world rather that the hope of the world.
The church at best, fell asleep. It might be fair to say that we lost the power to transform culture.
The world changed, and we didn’t. The world changed for the worse because we didn’t change at all.
People are rejecting Christ, because of the church!
Our motto changed from "We are the church, here to serve a lost and broken world" to "what does the church have to offer me?"
Are we too much about us getting fed and too little about us exercising our faith?
If those who prepare for leadership are looking for the safe place, who will lead the church into dangerous places?
The truth of the matter is that the center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world!
God fears nothing and no one!
Institutions preserve culture, while movements create culture.
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Thanks to the guys at www.xxxchurch.com, who originally compiled this list of quotes and wrote the preceding article.
As many of you can tell from this website, XXXchurch is about change, it is about honesty and it is about being real. These are some things that the church today struggles with. We cannot change and keep up with the things of the world, we are not honest with one another and the things we talk about and the things we do just do not seem real.
The church needs to get out of its fancy buildings, its mega campuses and make believe worlds and "get in the gutter". The purpose of the church is not to create safe places; the purpose of the church is to serve the world. The truth of the matter is that the center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world! It’s time for the church and for believers to "get in the gutter". We have fallen asleep and it is time for a wake up call.
I am reading An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus and he makes some prolific points about the church that I want to share with you. If you don’t go to church, the things he says are probably the reasons why and if you so go to church or lead a church, listen up!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have chosen standardization over uniqueness. We have chosen predictability over surprise.
The church is influenced by the world around her and called to influence the world in which she exists.
When relationships become stagnant and the community of Christ closes itself to the outside world, the result is an institution rather than a movement
Over the past forty years, the communities around many churches have changed dramatically, yet the church has stayed the same. Somewhere in the community’s transformation, the church disconnected.
The church must acclimate to a changing world, or she will destine herself to irrelevance or even extinction.
The more one focuses on one’s own living, the less one is concerned about giving life to others.
The church must always strive to be giving birth to the future.
Once survival has become our supreme goal, we have lost our way.
The purpose of the church cannot be to survive or even to thrive but to serve.
The life of the church is the heart of God. The heart of God is to serve a broken world.
When the church refuses to serve the world, she begins to waste away.
The real tragedy is not the churches are dying but that churches have lost their reason to live.
The reality was that pastors were being equipped to preserve the past rather that to create the future.
Seminaries were producing pastors who were ready for the pulpits but not for the challenge.
We spent million of dollars preserving our music and hymnals rather that creating worship that expresses the culture in which we live.
The church began to realize that our home turf had become our mission field and very few were called to missions.
The church became a fortress from the world rather that the hope of the world.
The church at best, fell asleep. It might be fair to say that we lost the power to transform culture.
The world changed, and we didn’t. The world changed for the worse because we didn’t change at all.
People are rejecting Christ, because of the church!
Our motto changed from "We are the church, here to serve a lost and broken world" to "what does the church have to offer me?"
Are we too much about us getting fed and too little about us exercising our faith?
If those who prepare for leadership are looking for the safe place, who will lead the church into dangerous places?
The truth of the matter is that the center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world!
God fears nothing and no one!
Institutions preserve culture, while movements create culture.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to the guys at www.xxxchurch.com, who originally compiled this list of quotes and wrote the preceding article.