Blog 10-10-11
I have been contemplating church as a people movement by
participating in the mission of God (missio Dei) with people who are not
Christians. I loved the example Dr. Bolger used about the republican students
and the gay and lesbian students from Berkley joining forces to build a home
for habitat for humanity. Doing things that we as followers of Jesus do and
inviting others who don’t follow him to join us or better yet, we join them.
What is the bridge that connects us to them?
Is the common denominator a heart for justice, an obligation to care for
humanity or creation, an extra curricular activity, or a desired outcome? Do our current bridges pull them out of their
culture or engage them in their culture?
Another question would be what is our motivation for asking them to
join? Is it to complete a task or a goal or is it truly relational? Once the project or activity is finished, the
connection will cease unless it is relational.
They must feel like they belong
before they will believe. And even then,
in a post Christendom world, it will take a long time. Are we willing to commit
to longevity? The other thought that I have been pondering for the majority of
the churches in the west, is are we positioning our churches where there are no
bridges to the poor? Many churches have
food ministries to the poor including ours. 5 years ago we started not
distributing food from our building and instead taking food to locations in the
community where the marginalized and poor hang out and live. Most of them do not have transportation and
most of them would not walk through our doors.
Relationships are growing and some have come to our church to attend a celebration
service but most of them come to serve in the food ministry. It is incredible to hear their stories of
feeling productive and valuable as they work with us. As McGavern suggests, these
people found God outside the walls of the church building and through the
people of God joining them in their culture.
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