Total Pageviews

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

The church - external focus

Found an interesting article. I don't agree with everything he writes but it will stimulate your thoughts.....what do you think?

external focus by Rick Rusaw

Suppose you pulled into the church parking lot and noticed something unusual. The building had disappeared and with it—the church. After you realized that it wasn’t a hallucination brought on by the triple espresso you had just knocked back, you decide to go look for the church. You start driving around town asking people if they had seen a church that morning because you had somehow misplaced one.

What response would you get? Would people notice it was gone? Would they miss your congregation? Would anyone care? Those are the questions that externally-focused churches are asking themselves.

There are plenty of churches in America, but far too often the focus of the church is internal. The emphasis is on getting people out of the community and into the church. Obviously, helping people discover God’s grace (Good News) and connecting them with his kingdom is critical. However, too many churches today measure their effectiveness by the number of people and activities inside. By contrast, externally-focused churches are interested in getting people out of the church and into the community. Externally-focused churches see a strong connection with Good News and Good Deeds. They recognize that good deeds often pave the path for good news. They understand that good deeds can be the bridge over which good news travels.

It isn’t an “either/or” choice for externally-focused churches. It is a case of “both/and.” Seeking the lost AND serving the least was the mark of the early Church and the mandate of Jesus. By nearly every account you read, the headlines say that the church in America doesn’t seem to be gaining ground but rather losing relevance, and with that—losing people. One way to restore credibility, create relationships, and demonstrate grace is to serve outside the walls of your building. Good deeds demonstrate the very heart of the church and enhance the reputation of God. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Mt 5:16)

In ways that I imagine we never planned on, the Church in America has found itself increasingly disconnected. In part, the current age of tolerance means tolerance for everything but Christianity. (I find it intriguing that the most intolerant people I meet are the ones screaming for tolerance, but that’s another topic altogether.) Keeping faith out of the schools, out of the marketplace and out of the public arena is the popular position today. It would be a mistake, however, to believe that the primary reason faith is relegated to a back seat in our communities is because of public pressure.

It seems to me that, in many ways, the church in America has found more and more ways to disengage from our communities. It doesn’t seem to be intentional or strategic but it has been effective. According to Gallup, 66% of people in America would make or agree with this statement, “The church has little or no value in helping people discover meaning in life.” Our disengagement has happened bit by bit. It could be described like this: “We didn’t like the stream that was flowing by the front door of the church. The water was murky and muddy and there were chunks of stuff floating in it. So, we created our own streams up behind the church.”

Interestingly enough, although the water is a bit cleaner and we can see the bottom most of the time, the streams run parallel with each other. For example, Christians and non-Christians divorce at the same rate, we get addicted at the same rate, and many have the same issues and struggles (again, another topic for another time). Basically, because we didn’t like the color or direction of the stream, we started our own stream. We didn’t like what was happening in some of the business organizations, so we began our own versions. We didn’t like what was happening in the public schools, so we began our own. Today we have a Christian version of everything from Christian books, Christian TV, even Christian underwear. We’ve got it all, don’t we?

Here’s just one example of how this parallel stream gets started. Much was happening in the public schools that Christians didn’t agree with…and rightly so. So, we started our own schools. We pulled out the Christian students, the Christian parents, the Christian teachers, Christian lunch room staff, Christian coaches and Christian administrators. This may sound harsh, but in essence, we said to the public school, “Go to Hell.” Some might say that’s a bit of an overstatement. But is it? In ways we never intended, we Christians have become increasingly disengaged from our communities and wonder why we have so little influence.

I have some very close friends who might read this article and let me know they don’t agree, or don’t like how I write, or simply tell me how stupid I can be. I have to admit their comments might make me mad. I might disagree, it might hurt, and I may choose to debate them. At the end of the day, though, I have to listen to them. They are my friends and have earned the right to be heard. We have laughed together, cried together and journeyed together. My friends have earned the right to speak into my life. I am afraid that we have lost that right in our communities. We speak and nobody listens. We stand on the banks of the shore and shout at the water. We let them know that they are heading in the wrong direction—that things are getting worse—but I’m afraid that they can’t or won’t listen because we do not have the relational strength to speak into the fabric of our communities.

It’s time to get back in the stream. There are risks—it isn’t easy and the opportunity to connect takes time. But, by getting into the stream, it’s possible that we will have the opportunity to be salt and light in our communities. It seems that the easiest way to get back in the stream is to find ways to serve in our communities—that means that we look for opportunities beyond our four walls and find ways to meet needs. It also means that we help the people we worship with each week to discover grace, grow in grace and learn to live gracefully. We must help them realize that God is writing his story and he plans on that story being written through their story. The people in your church can make a difference in their part of the world as they serve and live with grace.

Remember third grade and Show and Tell? You stand in the front of the room and show the item you brought from home and then you would tell about it. Maybe we need to do more “show and tell” in our communities, earning the right to be heard. Service can help build that relational bridge, allowing Christians to speak into the life of the community.

Good deeds create good will and give us the opportunity to share Good News!

Back to your triple espresso-induced hallucination: As you’re driving around town looking for your missing church, WHAT IF nearly everyone you asked said, “Let me help you find it because we can’t live without the church in this community!” Now THAT’S the church we all want to pastor!

1 comment:

Jon said...

We've had this discussion several times over the last couple of years amongst my friends...who happen to be church members, and ministry leaders, and deacons, and pew people for that matter.

Do we wait for people to show up at our door or do we go out and get them? Do we make ourselves available and open or do we restrict ourselves and those with whom we will be in contact?

Kim and I went through some experiences with churches during the life of our oldest (and terminally ill from HIV) son that were not willing to accept us because of his illness. We went through that not only with churches but with other organizations (including my employer--the US Army) as well.

Where did we get our support? Who reached out their hands to us? Who has our hearts now, as friends and more than friends? People in the gay and lesbian community were those who reached out to us. They were not alone, by any means, but they were the most willing and open.

I read today of the criticism and fallout that Saddleback Church is going through for hosting an AIDS Symposium and inviting Senator (or Represenative, I can never remember) Barack Obama to speak. Mr. Obama is a pro-choice advocate and supports many things in his life and political career that the church does not...cannot...support. But, in order to reach out and deal with the AIDS issue in the world, Saddleback was willing to listen to his ideas and engage his resources. And to many other diverse entities as well. For that, they have been criticized for opening up to the worldly view and running the risk of being "tainted."

Where did Jesus do most of his miracles? Among the cast out, among the poor, among the disenfranchised. That's where we need to be. In doing such work, we open the door to spreading the Gospel...not to being tainted by the world but to affecting the world for Jesus.

"Good deeds create good will and give us the opportunity to share Good News!"

This is truth...people must know you care before they care to listen to you. If you don't show your love, why should anyone listen to your talk of love?

Love God and also love people...the two statements are not separate. It is by loving others that we begin to demonstrate our love for God. That does not mean that it is the only way but it is a surefire way to get into the "personal space" of others and give yourself the opportunity to witness to them.

If we wait for the world to come into the church, we are stagnant. If we go into the world to win it for Jesus, we are vibrant. Let's be vibrant!

With Love

Jon