As you may recall I posted sometime back about a church sign I read that said "A Church Alive Is Worth The Drive". And, I promised to research and explore this topic more in depth and share with you here on the blog. So, today I am posting Part 2 of tThe Church Alive. Let me warn you now- I have no idea how many Parts it will take to fully communicate the ideas and research I am working on. Also, these segments are not for the faint of heart! I will do my best to post a segment each week until I feel there desperately needs to be an end to the topic. I will also try to post other stuff through out the week so not to overwhelm you blog readers- I'll will seek to write some fun stuff in between.
Now let me set a few ground rules for you as you read the segments on 'The Church Alive':
- I ask that you not get any ideas about changing churches because you find your church lacking in any of the areas we will discuss! I am saving the 'Why' to this point for our final segment. So, I ask that you hang in there with me to the very end before you decide your church may or may not be alive. I hope you will become very clear as to why I am setting this as ground rule number 1 by the time we finish out The Church Alive posts!
- Keep in mind as you read I am not the ultimate authority on this issue. God's word however is. So, feel free to disagree with me at any time. I am only seeking to flesh this topic out with you and please know it is a work in progress! So, my prayer is that you will study yourself and not take my word for it.
- Lastly, I would love to hear your thoughts on what the Church Alive is to you. So please email me your thoughts and make sure to let me know if I can reuse them. gaplori@embarqmail.com
Now that we've set the rules let's get down to Church Alive Business!
Thus far I have found it easier to discuss what a Church Alive isn't more than what it actually is. So let me share what it is not:
- A Church Alive is not measured upon how many people fill the pew each week. Big doesn't necessitate Alive!
- Busy doesn't necessitate Alive!
- Lots of programs doesn't necessitate Alive!
- Financial Prosperity doesn't necessitate Alive!
- Beautiful buildings, masses of electronic equipment and the best of the best in the form of stuff doesn't necessitate Alive!
- Academic excellence doesn't necessitate Alive!
- Amazing staff with lengthy bios does not necessitate Alive!
- Rich heritage and traditions do not necessitate Alive!
- Friendly congregants does not necessitate Alive!
I'm going to stop there. I feel you are probably getting the idea. We tend to measure success by many of the above when it comes to church growth and aliveness (not sure if that's a word- but by golly it is now! ha!). The top two measurements tend to be numbers- how many people attended and how much did they give. Ask yourself this question, "How often do I look to see how many people attended the Sunday Worship service?" Why do you look? Because typically we all measure the success of most any event by the attendance.
I've been out and about this week and in multiple churches. Everywhere I went people shared with me how many people attended their Palm Sunday and Easter Services. Please don't mishear me- I am thrilled that people go to church. Palm Sunday, Easter and Christmas services can be great entry points for the unchurched. And, as you probably know, it is an opportunity for what many call the 'CEO's' (Christmas & Easter Only's) to get re-connected to the church they say they are members of. Nothing excites me more than to see people go to church. You never know what God may do in that person's heart because they walked in a church building on an Easter Sunday. So by all means- PLEASE GO. But, let me be clear-numbers do not equate a spiritually Alive Church.
So, now that I have made several points on what the church is not and hopefully squelched our ideas on how we tend to measure success let's begin looking at what an Alive Church looks like and sometime in the segment I will set up a new formula for measuring success. But from today forward I ask that you give up on numbers- at least for awhile.
The Church Alive is people alive not a place. And those people are deeply repentant people. Never forget that the Church of Jesus Christ was built upon sinners. The very Gospel-the Good News of Jesus Christ is that he did not come to save the righteous but the unrighteous. He came to save that which was lost. He dided for sinners just like you and me. Allow me to quote from 'The Ragamuffin Gospel' written by Brennan Manning on this very topic:
"Here is the revelation bright as the evening star: Jesus comes for sinners, for those as outcast as tax collectors and for those caught up in squalid choices and failed dreams. He comes for corporate executives, street people, superstars, farmers, hookers, addicts, IRS agents, AIDS victims, and even used car salesmen. Jesus not only talks with these people but dines with them-fully aware that His table fellowship with sinners will raise the eyebrows of religious bureaucrats who hold up the robes and insignia of their authority to justify their condemnation of the truth and their rejection of the gospel of grace."
These are the sinner-guests invited by Jesus to closeness with Him around the banquet table. It remains a startling story to those who never understand that the men and women who are truly filled with light are those who have gazed deeply into the darkness of their imperfect existence. Morton Kelsey wrote: "The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners."
The Church Alive is full of the very people Mr.Manning speaks of above-Sinners. Sinners who have met Salvation. Sinners who came to the hospital and received healing grace. Once we met our Salvation- our Redeemer everything changed. Remember the story of the Prodigal Son? He squandered his inheritance and came crawling home to his father. His father ran to meet him, opened his arms to him and forgave him. The father said-"My son who was once dead is now alive". The Church Alive is full of people who were once dead but are now Alive. Alive becuase of the wonderful merciful grace of Jesus Christ.
Not only is the Church Alive built upon sinners- it welcomes sinners into the fellowship of the group just as Jesus did. The church Alive is one who wouldn't turn their nose up in snobbish nonacceptance when the nearby street hooker walked through the doors of the building. No, the Church Alive would meet her with the loving grace of Jesus and would introduce her to Salvation-our Redeemer and hers. Why? Because the Church Alive was built upon sinners just like her.
There is so much more to say on this topic. But not room in a blog post. Let me just end with a question for thought:
How do you treat others who walk through the doors of the building and into your church fellowship who is different from the rest of the group?
Think deeply sisters,
Lori
P.s. I have no time to spell check or grammar check today- so please excuse any errors you find!
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