Why Bother With Church?

Why bother with the local church?

The people can be rude and petty. The services and speakers can be boring. Yes, all that and more.

But as Tony Campolo writes in his new book, Letters To A Young Evangelical:

It is she who taught you about Jesus. I want you to remember that the Bible teaches that Christ loves the church and gave himself for it (Ephesians 5:25). That's a preeminent reason why you dare not decide that you don't need the church. Christ's church is called his bride (11 Con 11:2), and his love for her makes him faithful to her even when she is not faithful to him.

Campolo is a well-known and often controversial figure in the evangelical world. He is professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University. Described by Christianity Today in 2003 as one of America's "25 most influential preachers," I saw him speak once back in the 80's.

CT has posted Campolo's chapter about the church for May only. Read the rest here.

Review of Central Christian Church

Last Sunday I took a vacation day, allowing me and the Mrs. to attend Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS. I've been to Central a couple of times for concerts, but never a Sunday service. So going this past week satisfied a curiosity. Like my review of a previous church in Cincinnati, my observations are based on categories established by Outreach magazine and their "Mystery Visitor" column.

Getting There. Having been there before for concerts, I knew exactly where to go. The website told me it was a non-denominational church. A

First Impressions. Central has a Saturday evening service and 2 on Sundays. We went to the last one at 10:30am. Parking was easy. A greeter welcomed us before we even entered the doors. A

Inside the Church. The congregation was almost entirely Caucasian, although other races were represented in the pews and in the church's choir. Economically, it was mostly middle class, though not exclusively. The sanctuary's design is excellent. A stained glass cross stands above a baptistery. Video screens are on the left and right. The choir loft is elevated in the middle, with an orchestra pit below. Everything you see up front has a roomy feel. Nothing distracts your eye. If I were building a huge worship space, I'd go here for ideas. A

Service Experience. The worship music was outstanding. Peter Abood, Worship & Fine Arts pastor, had everything clicking. We sang mostly contemporary music. The variety of music was really pleasing. The 6 lead worship singers, the choir, the orchestra, Abood on piano, along with drums, synth, lead guitar, and bass were arranged in numerous ways, never the same and always interesting. A couple of people were baptized and the Lord's Supper was celebrated (something they do every weekend). My wife and I loved it all. A+

People Connection. Early in the service, there was a time to turn and greet neighbors seated next to you. It's an ice-breaker that all large churches do, but I've never gotten much out of it. C

The Message. Senior Pastor David Welsh recently succeeded Joe Wright, who was well-known in Wichita. Welsh's topic was, "How long should I pray?" He was personable, humorous, and enjoyable to hear. He recognized the difficult situations we sometimes have, yet reminded us that God never tells us to quit praying about our needs. By persevering in prayer, God shapes our character and transforms our life. Great question answered practically and with insight. A

Spiritual Response. People were invited to the front to pray with an elder or pastor. Rev. Welsh said they would even hang around after the service was completed. People felt free to raise their hands during throughout the worship. I know I was encouraged. A

Visitor Touchpoints. There's a welcome center in the lobby. My wife visited. I didn't. N/R

Return Visit? This is a neat church. Would I come back? Definitely. But oh wait, I'm a pastor and I'll be at my own church this weekend. A

Overall. The whole experience was great. After finally coming to Central on a Sunday, I appreciate how "extra curricular" events like community concerts can serve to welcome people into your church. While we sat closer to the front, I looked back and saw that the sanctuary was only about 1/2 full. That surprised me a little bit. As a contemporary church, Central has a more grown up feel to it than more youthful contemporary services I've attended over the years. But Central has a lot to offer. I appreciate their witness and spiritual leadership in the city of Wichita. A+

Generational Blind Spots

Today's entry is a guest column by Rev. Bob Thompson, President of Faithful & Welcoming Churches, a renewal movement in the United Church of Christ, and pastor of Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory, North Carolina.


The generational blind spots of history increasingly baffle me.

How could Jews of Jesus' day conspire to reject and condemn God's Son?

How could Christians in the Thirteenth Century conduct the Crusades?

How could Martin Luther and generations of German Christians after him justify anti-semitism, ultimately leading to the Holocaust?

How could white Southerners believe that first slavery and then segregation were consistent with their faith in Jesus Christ?

Another question haunts me even more. What blind spots of my generation do I harbor, reinforce, and perpetuate? I wonder where you and I are making unfounded assumptions about what God thinks that will prove indefensible in his eternal presence or even a few years
down the road.

Isaiah was right when he said, "We have turned every one to his own way." Human beings have an amazing capacity for justifying our own thoughts and actions. Our sinful nature, our political views and alliances, and even our religious gatherings all conspire to feed our sense of self-righteousness and self-rightness.

"Freedom of choice" encourages us to gather with others who think and act like we do. We separate ourselves into churches full of people who share not only our passions (thereby allowing us to get something done!) but also our blind spots. We remain unchallenged in our assumptions because we congregate with only those most like ourselves.

So what shall we do? We must learn to listen better. God is speaking to us, but our hearing is selective. We tend to listen only to that which reinforces what we already know to be true. How can we pay better attention to God?

First, we must listen to Scripture. Not only is the Bible God's authoritative and trustworthy self-revelation, the very fact that it was written by and to believers at a different time and place frees it from captivity to our generational blind spots.

Second, we must listen to other Christians. This is certainly true within our congregations, but we must also allow ourselves to hear God's Word through believers of other races, cultures, and denominations. Otherwise our reading of the Bible becomes only another way to reinforce our preconceived ideas.

Then we must listen to our spiritual ancestors. G. K. Chesterton said that true democracy gives voice and vote to tradition alongside those who are still living. When we hear our egos declaring that we are the first generation to get everything right, we only demonstrate our spiritual poverty.

We must also listen to our critics. While it is convenient to dismiss them or counterattack, more than likely there is at least some truth to what they say. We will ignore them to our peril.

Finally, we must listen to God's still, small voice. While conscience is subjective and can be seared or blocked, most of the time God is still trying to get through.

Together perhaps we can avoid the worst blunders of the past. Or maybe we can't – time and God will tell. But we can certainly try harder to listen.

Review of Cincinnati's Crossroad Community Church

Whenever I'm off from the Sunday morning pastoral duties of my own church, I really enjoy attending other churches to see what they're doing and how they do it.

Last Sunday in Cincinnati I had the chance to attend Crossroads Community Church, located in the Oakley neighborhood. Crossroads is a ten-year-old, non-denominational fellowship whose mission is, "connecting seekers with a community of growing Christ-followers." For this review, I'll use the format of the "Mystery Visitor" in Outreach Magazine.

Getting There: Crossroads' website quickly answers all the questions of a first time visitor--who they are, where they are, and what to expect. Getting there was easy. A+

Outside the Church: I attended the early service, so there was more than enough parking. From the moment we entered the huge lot, someone was directing us to a space. A+

First Impressions: Greeters welcomed us at the door. The lobby was huge. Plenty of comfortable chairs, but I expected to see a few more. This church is serious about coffee! They must have had 6 different kinds available. Glad I didn't stop by Starbucks on the way! For a moment, I couldn't find the auditorium, but that wasn't a problem. The building is a newly renovated old factory. The sleek silver-black design retains that factory "charm" (if there is such a thing!). A+

Inside the Church: Nearly all the people there were Caucasian. I did see a few blacks. Most appeared to be upper-level income folks, but I did notice several who definitely were not. During the service, the lead pastor mentioned that since the church moved into their new space, the church has seen a greater spread of economic diversity amongst its attendees. However, I don't think the racial diversity of the neighborhoods surrounding Crossroads was reflected in the service. B+

Service Experience: On stage was a huge 30 foot ladder and in the big letters, "The Joneses." The hour-long service featured 1 song (a creative interpretation of "In the Secret") performed at the service's beginning and end, and two artsy videos. The flow of the service went well and could have been further enhanced in a couple of ways. First, I would have switched the order of the two videos. The B&W 1960's-feel video (featuring two people on split screen competing to keep up with one another) did a better job of introducing the day's theme. Then, I would show the artsy claymation video second (light shining and then dimming out); it would have been good at the end of the message because the audience now knows the day's application; we can now "feel" it through a video experience. Or, I would have cut one of the videos and replaced it with another song. Second, the audience was told in the introduction to both videos, "Here's what this is about." That's like telling me how the story ends. Instead, let me experience it first; then afterwards, help me interpret my own judgments. The atmosphere was comfortable and laid back. B+

People Connection: The auditorium lights over the audience was dimmed almost the entire time, except for the service's few moments where people were asked to introduce themselves to their neighbor. Since the attendance was low, my Dad and I sat in a place where we could maintain space between ourselves and others. My Dad said afterwards he thought the dark room was intended to keep people comfortable with not having to introduce themselves. But as a first time visitor, usually you just want to comfortably slip in and out. B

The Message: The theme of the message was getting honest with others about your money. 3 Scriptures were briefly mentioned. The pastor did a sit-on-the-couch interview with a couple who got honest with their more well-to-do friends about their spiraling debt problem. The interview format was a good and gently persuasive way to talk about a challenging subject--the pressure we feel trying to "keep up with Joneses." The topic was an A+. But if I were to grade the reason why I should get honest with my friends about my money (here, I'm talking about where the source of the authority's application comes from), I would give a C- (now the pastor in me is showing). It was hard to discern how the application was arising out of Scripture. The 3 Scripture passages were mentioned only very briefly, not shown on the video projection screen, and not explained in any way. The testimony of the couple was incredible. Being shown a more direct connection of how their decisions arose from what the Bible teaches would have enhanced their testimony even more.

Spiritual Response: Kind of hard to gauge--especially considering the topic of the day. An offering was passed during the service, so that was an opportunity to put your money where your heart is. I can't remember if the audience was told we could talk to someone afterwards if we wanted to talk. My traditional church kind-of-guy Dad felt like he was sitting in a live TV show--Oprah or something. B

Visitor Touchpoints: We walked around in the lobby afterwards, picked up some brochures, and got another coffee. My Dad jokingly asked a church volunteer, "Did I miss the cappuccino?" A

Return Visit? Definitely. Crossroads' seeker sensitive approach is touching a lot of lives. As an established Christian, I'd be interested in learning about their "Next Level" ministry. A

Overall Experience: I'm glad I went! It's a whole lot different than ministry in rural Kansas. A

Obama Outta the Saddleback?

Columnist Kevin McCullough is leading a controversial campaign to get US Senator and United Church of Christ member Barack Obama removed from the list of speakers at an upcoming AIDS conference hosted by Rev. Rick Warren at his Saddleback Church in Orange, California.

McCullough accuses Warren of abandoning biblical principles by allowing Obama to speak at his church, since Obama supports no restrictions against abortion, special rights for homosexuals, and condom distribution as a way to fight AIDS.

Several prominent conservatives have signed McCullough's petition against Warren and Obama, including Phyllis Schlafy and Tim Wildmon.

In an email to participants of pastors.com, Warren said that while Obama is speaking at his church, McCullough is misrepresenting the nature of Obama's visit:

"Another blogger claimed I´ve invited Barack Obama to preach in my pulpit to the Saddleback congregation. Of course that is untrue. I´d never invite ANY politician to speak from the pulpit to our congregation. Never...the Global Summit on AIDS and the Church will be held on the Saddleback campus. It is not a church service, but an international summit for pastors and world leaders. Leaders from churches, denominations, health organizations, NGOs, Christian organizations, governments, businesses, and entertainment will meet together to discuss how they can work with and through churches to end AIDS."

McCullough's original article, "Why is Obama's Evil in Warren's Pulpit?" is guilty of skewing the facts about Obama's visit to Saddleback. He's not speaking in a worship service, but a church conference. There is a difference and McCullough should have been more clear about the nature of Obama's visit to Saddleback.

Furthermore, McCullough inappropriately highlights Obama's views on abortion and other issues around sexuality when he should have focused on Obama's views about the primary topic being addressed at the Saddleback conference--AIDS.

However, McCullough raises some important points for Christian conservatives. If Obama believes that condom distribution is the best way to address the AIDS crisis, should or can that message be given weight at a church conference where most in attendance believe that sex activity outside of marriage is immoral?

Last, McCullough fears that Obama will use his appearance at Saddleback to boost his future presidential ambitions--giving conservatives the impression that since he spoke at Saddleback, he then holds conservative views, when he actually does not.

Obama probably will misuse it, but hey, that's politics. Not everything appears as it actually is--just like McCullough's article.

UPDATE: Good comment from Scot McKnight: "Evangelical Christians must cooperate with anyone and everyone on the AIDS issue; cooperation on AIDS does not mean agreement with the moral and theological and political stances with everyone with whom we cooperate; refusing to cooperate with someone like Obama to stamp out AIDS indicates, not careful theology, but infective ideology."

Quotes of Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley's 2006 Drive Conference for church leaders took place earlier this month at NorthPoint Community Church near Atlanta and Tony Morgan took great notes--saving me $2,500 in travel and conference expenses (ha!). In one, two, three, four, five installations, Morgan lists 73 "smart things" that Andy said. Here are my favorites:

2. We all do ministry in communities where people think church is for church people. That's the type of world we live in. People care about God. People want to connect with God. There's a hunger for God, but the church is in the way. "I'm giving the rest of my life to change that."

4. Sinners liked to be around Jesus. They liked him, but they were nothing like him.

5. Leaders are very dissatisfied unless there's progress.

15. When a local church gets off-mission, God gets uninterested. God says, "They don't need me."

18. Are you willing to take a critical look at your organization or ministry team and determine whether or not you're unintentionally making it harder for people to take steps toward Christ?

19. God works through systems. For example, your body is a complex system designed by God. It's systematic and predictable. God created systems. That doesn't make him small. Likewise, God works through systems in our ministry. Systems aren't secular.

32. Anytime you hear, "our people just won't," you're listening to someone who doesn't understand systems. They're blaming people instead of addressing the systems.

34. What's rewarded gets repeated.

47. Connect the dots. You need to figure out a way for every single volunteer in your organization to understand what they contribute to the whole.

48. The very best people are busy people. Because of that, you need to define the terms of service. What's the commitment required?

54. Obey God and leave all the consequences to him.

56. Learn to fight your battles on your knees.

63. The question we need to ask is this: What is the problem that won't be solved if we don't do what God has called us to do?

72. You capture a person's heart, you'll get their hands.