Throwing the Box Away

The message of the gospel should never change, but the methods we use to deliver that message should be ever-changing. The longer I pastor, the more I am convinced that the church today looks very little like the one we see in the book of Acts. We have created a religious box and put God inside - at least the god conceived in our minds. The one true God cannot be contained by our traditions. At Kingdom, we are thinking outside the box and I love it. On Wednesday nights, some of our small groups are meeting in area cafes for Bible study and fellowship. Parents can drop their kids off at the church and be at their life group within five minutes. Having so many cafes nearby allows us to take our faith outside the sanctuary walls and into the community. Most churches doing small groups meet in homes, and that's cool, but studying God's Word in Starbucks or Caribou Coffee is just awesome. As the culture changes, it will become increasingly necessary to think outside the box - or just throw the box away. Churches cannot continue to do things the way they've always been done. If we foster a take it or leave it attitude, unchurched people will just leave it. If we are going to go backwards in our thinking, let's go all the way back to the beginning when all the church had was Jesus and the abiding presence of the Spirit of God. Let us remember that the simple growth plan for the first church was an emphasis on God's Word, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer (Acts 2:41-47). Let's start there and ask God what what he wants the church to look like today.

CAP