Being Apart of a Community of Faith…

I know it’s late but I had to share a little of what happened today. I had the privilege today to talk with my boss, Todd M., about some exciting ideas of establishing a community of faith. He has been leading a group on Sundays, which I am apart of, and Wednesdays. We’re studying “The Passionate Life” and the Life Shapes. What is more we all have a desire to get away from the model of “doing church”, but being apart of a group of believers that is missional & relational, where Christ’s design for the “church” is lived out in our daily lives. I yearn to be building relationships that are about kingdom work not just self-fullfilling. At the lowest level of this community of believers is as desire to be real and totally open, a place that is safe and designed to bring us closer to Christ. This is something that I’ve longed for. The next level is that of one where we can have a mission to reach out to others, a way for us to provide a non-threatening place and relationships built on meeting others needs. At the top level is where all of us can come together in celebration of what God has done and is doing, this would most look like perhaps a Sunday morning worship service.

While I have had initial hesitation, because I’m very comfortable in the traditional church setting, I want to see the church grow out of it’s traditions, and into a body of believers that shares their faith journey with a mission of sharing the Good News. I think so often we can get so comfortable, and dare I say lazy, with our activities around the “church” that we forget that Jesus didn’t spend His days hanging out in the synagogue, He went out among the people that needed to hear His message. If this new community of faith has a mission like that, then it is that kind of “church” I want to be apart of. And just a note, that I’m not saying traditional churches don’t have programs that are outreach ministries. However the key is that churches do outreach, they don’t generally operate for the purpose of outreach, their outreach is programatic.

In the world we live in today, we need to change how we reach people, but not necessarily what we believe. Even though at this point and time I am affiliated with the Church of the Lutheran Brethren, I am first and formost a Christian. I don’t really care what denomination I identify with so long as their beliefs are Biblical and based on God’s truth.

Well, that’s all for tonight.