Dr. Alan Hirsh asked this question to his seminary students after studying the life and teaching of Jesus for a semester. What would people do with Jesus if He turned up in our churches exhibiting the same attitudes and behaviors demonstrated in the Gospels? One brave soul replied, "we would probably kill Him!"
I wonder what Willoughby Hills Friends would do with Jesus if He began attending our weekly services? Would He dress up and carry a Bible? Would He come inside for the singing and preaching or just hang out in the Cafe with those people? (You know who I mean ... "those people" ... the tax collectors, winebibbers, gluttons, prostitutes, sick and diseased people). Yes, it would be interesting to see how the we would receive Him.
In many respects His ways are still not our ways at WHFC. Here in lies the enormity of my job. How through my administrative duties of the staff and church do I lead transition from a body that has been strongly institutionalized and facility/program focused back to the basics of the Founder who was the undoing of formalized religion and the decentralization of the temple (Matthew 21:28-46; Luke 19:10-26; 23:45), without blowing the whole place up?
Under the ministry of Jesus the Kingdom of God breaks out of the building and into the world with purpose and freshness; unconditional love and acceptance. In light of this how then should we view our facility and what should the focus of our efforts be? We must follow our Founder and this must be seen in our strategic three year plan, become the agenda for every staff, elders and administrative council meeting and be experienced in every gathering our attendees participate in.
Oh how I long for the day when the attitude and mission of Christ is reflected in the weekly communication cards we received rather than people sharing personal preference about worship location, parking issues, kids that make noise and move around to much during the preaching time, and the volume and styles of music. I pray for angel donors to come forth and pay off our $40K per month mortgage so we can invest those dollars into our communities for the glory of God. Yep, I believe in miracles. Please Jesus show up at WHFC. We need You!
Thanks for stopping by!
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Adrian
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Great post! Does your church have a disciplship program or programs that offer the opportunity for service? It seems as though many churches provide all kinds of opportunities for entertainment but they do not realize the value of teaching service. I believe that helping people develop a servants heart is crucial. As I read what you had to say, the thing that came to mind is that we have become a self centered people. When people begin to develop a heart of concern for others (Spiritually, physically, and emotionally), then we will begin to see a shift in the focus of concern.
ReplyDeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteWe are trying to view evangelism, discipleship and service as one in the same. Currently we have several service opportunities for our people to use in emulating Jesus to the world.
Great comments by the way! Thanks for your insight.
this question is for Cindy--do you attend a church now? -if so, would love to know where? --for Adrian--i think Jesus would stop at the door and be a greeter--and since He knows our thoughts--maybe all the people entering thru that door would hang out with Him--maybe in the coffee shop--maybe in the prayer room--maybe in the exercise room--or perhaps on the playground--but i think the LOVE he gives them is all they would need --who knows--maybe a crowd would gather near that door and they'd all start singin' "It is Well" after spending a few minutes with "the greeter" --and then maybe everybody in the sanctuary would hear the singin' and go outside to listen--but instead find themselves joining in and it becomes so loud and beautiful that cars on 91 soon pull in--and so on and so on ...--just a thought :o)
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