Comments on: what i’ve learned about [church]: part ii

By: Scotty Dub

Scotty Dub — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:00:11 +0000

Looks forward to those posts Brian!

By: Christian Salafia

Christian Salafia — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:52:55 +0000

“We are the church and we are here for … everyone.”

Exactly.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:48:47 +0000

scotty dub…first, thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment…

i hear u on many levels…i’ve often told people what i hate about church buildings is massive parking lots/buildings that sit empty 6.5 days a week… there are many thoughts i have and most will be saved for future posts. But, for now, i will just say (and i know you know this) that church leaders, the vasty majority of them, are great men and women who seek the heart of God and do what they believe God is calling them to do. are they always “right?” nope. are motives always 100% on track…nope. but, i really believe that church leaders are seeking to be spirit-led….but, we are human and we are fallen. we will make mistakes. that being said, often, we can do better. i pray my decisions have/can/will bring glory to God and use His resources to do the most good for the community. and, when my decisions fall short i pray that i will repent where needed, learn from it and ask God to bless my stupidity anyway

hope you continue to read….

By: Scotty Dub

Scotty Dub — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:32:47 +0000

Great start Brian, looking forward to where this leads. Here’s a few thoughts for what they are worth. In my experience, churches either do well serving Christians or non-Christians, but rarely both. Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel springs to mind as one that did both well.
The problem always seems to be ‘what do we do with the outsiders once they become believers?’ Too many times I fear the new believer is lost in the masses, a downside of the mega church.

Another common misstep (IMHO) that churches make is getting lost in the business (read money) side of things; ie, opening the gift shop, coffee shop, T-shirt shop. Which usually goes hand in hand with big new multi million dollar building, which always sounds great, but then it has to be paid for. You will now hear the pastor beat the pulpit on tithing/giving whenever money gets tight.

Finally, once we have this beautiful new building, how often is it used for Christ’s glory? Is it just for services on Sundays and the occasional ’special’ event? I love driving by a mega church during the week and gazing at the glimmering, empty parking lot. Why aren’t we using these monstrosities daily? Homeless shelters, day care facilities, schools, etc. Could it be because as Christians we don’t want to get our hands dirty? I’ll admit I’ve been guilty of that one. Truth is it’s easier to fill a seat on sunday, give a little when the spirit moves, and throw the proverbial stones at the other churches that are ‘doing it wrong’ than to fix the problem. How do we fix it? I’ve got more ideas, but does anyone really care?

I look forward to reading more.