I cannot stand another church FAD. There have been numerous fads and trends that have over promised and under-delivered. The church Growth-movement that started in the 70's... gained momentum in the 80's... and peaked out in the 90's... has residue left over on Christendom in our post-modern culture. We have been duped into believing that "filling the church" is the answer. I will admit that a growing church has some vital signs that display some level of health... however, if a growing church, or a full church is the measure of vitality, we are gravely mistaken.
Filling churches is no longer the goal... emptying churches into the streets is!! I cannot over emphasize the paradigm shift from "church growth" to "church mission". The mission of the church starts with a HUGE goal in mind... that is, to empty the seats and to engage our people in the wilds of popular culture. To live Christ in our schools and workplaces, to re:engage Christ in out conversations at coffee houses, pubs, and resturants. To host BBQ's and bon fires in our community and neighborhoods... to re:imagine the expression of Christ in our artisitic venues of music, theater, and comedy. To be foolish enough to think that we could collaborate with other entities in popular culture... like businesses, organizations, and government... to actually serve those in need around us.
The Church must do this! This is not a fad... its a model, given to us by Jesus years and years ago. We just some how messed it up.
The church has entered a new day in Christendom... and we need to look to Christ for our model and our mission.
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2 comments:
Hi Jon,
Happened on your blog from.... I forget how. Maybe Ken's blog.
Anyway, I wonder if Fads are all that bad. I remember being told as a teenager that some life shattering experience was "just a stage" I was going through. WHile meant to encourage me it trivialized the emotional and pyschological distress I was enduring, even if it was only for a season and a normal part of growing up. So fads, are they perhaps "just stages a culture goes through"? To those emeshed in the culture they no doubt feel and impact much more importantly. How many saved during the church growth movement would not have been without that fad? Still, I am burned out myself on the various marketing schemes the church puts together to get me motivated to become more deeply involved, connected, evanglizing, giving, sharing, praying, journaling......
And "hi" by the way.
Without the coming in we don't have the going out and without the going out, we don't have the coming in... so is it:
chicken, egg, or egg, chicken?
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