Everything That's On My Mind

Rick Meigs has a good post this morning over at The Blind Beggar about the tyranny of personal preferences. For too long Christians have considered the church service to be their refuge from the outside world, just like the "hideout" most little boys have growing up. It's a place to escape, to feel comfortable and safe, to be reassured and "fed". It's a place where we can pretend we're superheroes without actually having to fight any monsters. We've turned the church service into a clubhouse meeting.

Don't misunderstand, we need to be safe and reassured. We need to be comforted and healed. The church (i.e. the body of Christ) needs to perform that function. The church service (i.e. the main meeting where we invite the community to show up) should be a time when we set aside our personal preferences and do our best to communicate the Gospel in terms and forms that the "uninitiated" can grasp. Of course, that assumes that we actually care enough to invite the community to show up.

Rick quotes Breaking the Missional Code* which is a book I've just finished reading. There's a whole lot there to digest, but I'll probably reference it more in future posts. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is concerned about the growth of the Kingdom of God in North America. We no longer have the "home field advantage" trying to reach our community. We're living in post-Christian society and we need to start acting like it.

* You may be asking "what in the world does 'missional' mean?" You could just read the book to find out but if you just can't wait, check out Rick's other site, Friend of Missional.