"Much of the church is stuck in the 50's and what isn't is stuck in the 60's" - Jamie Potter-Miller

I have been thinking about the role of the church in the 21st century a lot lately as a result of conversations with Pernell Goodyear (freeway) and reading through a lot of interesting stuff from authors like Leonard Sweet and Shane Claiborne. All of that discussion has lead me to the conclusion that there is no single answer to what the church should look like. What might work in Hamilton may not work in Brooklyn, and probably wouldn't work in Silicone Valley, yet there is something different that will work everywhere. Something that God is calling someone to do, something that may cause other "Christians" to shake their head at, but something that is authentic and specific to the community in which it is spawned.

Over the years we have seen churches try some pretty whacky and unbibilical things to try and bring non-Christians into their churches. Such as, wavering on their theology, questioning basic principles of faith such as the emaculate conception and the Easter story. Leanard Sweet in his book Aqua Church argues that we need to change the container in which we dispense the message but the message needs to remain the same today as it has always been. I have realized that we need to be authentic and socially conscious but in that we need to protect the sanctity of the message. In Pauls letters he tells us that we need to be everything to everyone, in order for us to fulfill that calling we may need to do somethings that we would never have thought of doing and may not want to do in order to share the message of Christ and his love. For example, in the 18o0's that call call lead William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) to share the message of Christ in the Pubs. For the Apostle Paul it meant taking the message to the Gentiles and doing things like eating food he would never have dreamed of eating. For the Meeting House it means worshiping in Movie Theatres, and for the Freeway it means sharing the message of God and building community through a Cafe. In all of these cases the message of Gods love and grace is the same but the "Church" or "Container" looks different. I believe more today then I ever have that Jesus came to get rid the world of "Religion" and that is why it is often easier to see Jesus outside of the traditional Church then it is inside.

I know this rant may offend some people, my hope in this is not to offend but rather to challenge you and me. Ponder this, if everything in the world is changing and changing at a rapid pace does it make sense to do church the same way as we always have and expect people to accept it? Would you expect some one to buy a cassette tape if all they had in their house was a CD player? Things change and somethings become obsolete.

Peace

PS Let me know if you think I am completely out to lunch or if you are feeling the same way. I certainly haven't got it all put together but I find it is in the conversations that I really start to figure things out!