My Part of the Conversation

Barna has some great research on how many Americans have what he calls a “biblical worldview”.  A biblical worldview, in his research consisted of these points:

A person

• Believes that absolute moral truths exist
• That such truth is defined by the Bible
• Jesus Christ lived a sinless life
• God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today
• Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned
• That Satan is a living force, not just a symbol of evil
• A Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people
• The Bible is accurate in all of its teachings

According to the article, 62% of Americans claim to be deeply spiritual, 88% believe to be “accepted by God”, but only 4% maintain the Biblical Worldview that he described.

There’s a lot more in the articles.  Check them out!

 Most Adults Feel Accepted by God, But Lack a Biblical Worldview

A Biblical Worldview has a Radical Effect on a Person’s Life 

Thought I’d continue my trend of providing a little light reading.

Blaine

Joel had a great link to an article on Barna’s new book. Here’s an excerpt from it (which I think is an excerprt from the book… How do you cite that?)

“These are people who are less interested in attending church than in being the church,” he explained. “We found that there is a significant distinction in the minds of many people between the local church – with a small ‘c’ – and the universal Church – with a capital ‘C’. Revolutionaries tend to be more focused on being the Church, capital C, whether they participate in a congregational church or not.”

“A common misconception about revolutionaries,” he continued, “is that they are disengaging from God when they leave a local church. We found that while some people leave the local church and fall away from God altogether, there is a much larger segment of Americans who are currently leaving churches precisely because they want more of God in their life but cannot get what they need from a local church. They have decided to get serious about their faith by piecing together a more robust faith experience. Instead of going to church, they have chosen to be the Church, in a way that harkens back to the Church detailed in the Book of Acts.”

I don’t know about you, but this bothers me.

I’m not bothered that people aren’t sitting on pews on Sunday. I’m bothered that many people who are trying to live out their faith in meaningful ways are actually being drawn away from traditional church settings.

What are we doing? Why are the two becoming mutually exclusive? How have things come so far that “church” actually has become perceived as a deterent to spiritual growth.

I admit, I have a degree of skepticism that all these people are spiritually healthy. However, I find myself siding with them at times. Don’t we want to break free? How often to I write about my particular denomination and want change within its own walls? In doing so, I am becoming part of the problem, failing to see myself as part of the greater Kingdom.

When I was in Italy, it was imperative to make the distinction between going to a worship service and going to the building. In fact, we rarely used the Italian word for church, because it drew from a concept of a building. For our worship services, we called them “reunions” or “worship”.

I think we help the matter when we change our vocabulary a little. We can help a lot when we change the way we think, when we see ourselves not as parts of a congregation, but as parts of a great kingdom.

In HIM,
Blaine

I’ve actually had several conversations with people in regards to this Wednesday night thing. They are all interested in exploring other options. Several are even people that will contribute to any decision being made. We’ll see…

Another thought I had with the Coffee shop thing, is providing a format that would allow people to have different meetings. For example, we are currently involved in process to design our new facility for our church move. There are many different groups that need time to sit down and talk together. This provides them that time.

Also, our current format is linked to a semester system. What if we had a time we could have small groups, or short lessons on things. A group that wants to learn about media stuff can do that, a group of fathers who have middle school girls can meet, there could be a short class on the history of our church, or an “intro to South” class that meets once a month for new members. Nobody is required to be in a class. Those are the side discussions. The ever-popular “front porch class” is brought inside the fellowship hall as the main event, with spontaneous break out classes. I can actually think of a lot more short, 2-4 week series than semester courses. Don’t you think people would be more willing to sign up for a shorter study? Especially if they know they’ll get to sit and have coffee for several weeks afterward?

Anyway, just thought I’d add a few more thoughts. I was very pleased with the discussion from last week. If you haven’t read it, it’s worth following.

Blaine

I just got word that our Wednesday night attendance is at an all-time low.

There’s many factors I see that led to it. Dwindling attendence creates more dwindling attendance. Not many class choices. Unengaging classes for adults. Busy, busy lifestyles of many people in our church.

But regardless of the reason, I have to ask why we are doing it in the first place?

It’s great to have a chance to meet during a “mid-week Bible study”. It’s nice to touch base with people in the middle of the week. For the youth ministry, it’s probably even one of the best teaching times that I have. But what role does it serve?

Don’t we have enough times that we spend dealing with lessons and texts? If people are busy with work, family, and church services, when do Christians have time to spend together.

The most often quoted verse in regards to church attendance is Hebrews 10:25:

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (NIV)

But what else does it say? Look at the verse that comes before it

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Heb 10:24 NIV

How is a lecture or classroom setting supposed to help us “spur one another on” or “encourage one another” “all the more”? We get Bible knowledge and even some practical knowledge, but are we really building friendships? Are we helping out our brothers? Is God’s kingdom growing, are WE growing, or are we just talking about it?

I was talking with another minister about this today, about my desire to get rid of the mid-week study and replace it with something more meaningful. He suggested a “coffee shop night” where child care is available, and people are encouraged to come sit for an hour with people they don’t get to connect with very often. A time when people can have the church meetings they need to have without taking one more night away from their families. A time when they can “spur each other on” and “encourage one another”.

It’s different. It’s outside the box. And I like it.

What do you think?

Blaine

A while back, I posted that I wanted to begin reading more. I asked for some recommendations, and got some great ones. I started with a few books that were given to me by people who said they were really influenced by the writing.

Matt sent me a copy of “Blue Like Jazz“. He had been going on and on about how great it is. He was definately right. I found a lot of truth in what Donald Miller says about Christianity. The book is about a desire to have a deep, meaningful relationship with God despite the Church. That’s not to say that he advocates not being part of a church, just that so many unhealthy churches have tainted our view of what “church” is supposed to be. The writer simply shares about his coming to faith, even though he grew up in the church. He writes about reaching out to the unchurched and loving them as they are. Probably the best chapter deals with selfishn pride that keeps us from accepting God’s love for us. It’s one of those books that you read and are processing for weeks later. I might write more on this book soon, but I don’t want to feel like you don’t need to read it. Cause you do.

My dad gave me a copy of “Why Men Hate Going to Church“. It’s a book on which their church (Christ’s Church of the Valley) bases a lot of their approach to ministry. I’m about 6 chapters in, and have found it very enlightening. The author makes a strong case that we have “feminized” church over the years, connecting with the intristic values of women and left those of men out. Men don’t want safety, security, or personal relationships. The want risk, challenge, and adventure. Jesus showed those qualities. The apostles showed those qualities. But, is the average church-goer given the challenge to show those qualities? I’ll write more on this book when I finish it.

I’m off today, and am going to spend some time with the family.

Blaine