January 7 Discussion Questions
Hey everyone! I'm going to put 3 questions below. The first one, we discussed briefly, but I'd like us to keep thinking about it and continue to contribute our thoughts to it. The others are ones we didn't get to.
1. If the church is really a missionary movement, and not a place go to, or an event to invite people to, then what are the ways in which people come to be a part of our church?
2. If there is no institution that caters to people's every need, then how do we, as a missionary movement, meet the genuine needs of those in our faith community? How does this redefine our concept of "ministries w/in the church"?
3. Jesus sought to do away with sacred / hierarchical leadership. In the Kingdom of God, we are all "priests" with different gifts and roles to play as the "body of Christ." This doesn't mean we neglect spiritual authority or accountability, but it does put the sharing of responsibility back on each individual within the community. Church elders (leaders) serve to equip the church (see Eph. 4:11-13). How does this affect our ideas about professional clergy / pastors?
Let's have some active dialogue about this on the blog throughout the week and attempt to find common ground on this at our worship gathering on Sunday morning. Agreed?
Happy blogging!
Ryan
posted by The Well at 2:37 PM
1 Comments:
I'm going to submit a few answers to my own questions, just to generate some conversation.
1. First, let me summarize how we answered this on Sunday and then I'll tack on a couple of my own thoughts. People come to be a part of our church through relationships. This happens naturally as we share meals, attend sporting events / concerts, engage in hobbies, participate in our kids' activities or neighborhood gatherings. Those relationships can be preexisting, or they can happen as we invest time and energy in our community by serving, by joining a local gym or club, by visiting the same coffee shop or restaurant, or in a million other ways (which we need to keep brainstorming). Once those relationships are established, how do we move people into the life of The Well (and hopefully, into God's Kingdom and relationship w/Jesus)?
a. By encouraging them to come and serve alongside you in a community service or social justice project. It will deepen your friendship and provide an opportunity for your friend to meet others from The Well.
b. By inviting them to join you at a worship gathering. Although we are not "attractional" we are still called to be attractive. Our genuine relationships, our humility in worship, the content of our teaching, etc. should all be attractive.
c. What else?
2. I would like to suggest that we approach the "meeting of needs" more wholistically. New research suggests that people with real needs (emotional needs, addictions, etc.) find tremendous healing by focusing, not on themselves, but on others. Sound familiar? This was what Jesus prescribed (more on this another time). Now, clearly, this isn't the end all for people with serious problems. Nor does this describe every "need" that exists. So, what do we do for people who have questons about the faith or who need to overcome a drinking problem? Here are just a couple of thoughts...
a. Since the church is us and not an institution, we need to work together to help people find the help they need. That might mean that a couple of people coordinate an ALPHA course and have it hosted in someone's home. Or maybe there are a few couples within The Well who want to strengthen their marriages. Then another couple might step up and offer to host a marriage seminar. I would simply suggest that we don't come up with ministry names and logos and promote them as a "service." Let's talk more about this.
b. We need to partner with other organizations in our community who can meet these needs. So many churches feel the need to compete with other churches to have the best recovery program or the best marriage retreat. All the while there are good community programs down the street that are already providing this service...and doing a decent job at it. Why shouldn't we partner with organizations who are already meeting these needs?
c. Tell me what you think about this...
3. Today, when a person in a Christendom-model church gets sick, they call the phone number of the institution that is their church. They expect a pastor to come visit them and pray for them. Some churches even have pastoral care departments to meet this need. Now, I believe a person should call "the church", but that they shouldn't call an institution. They should call the people who are the personal expression of the church for them. I mean, seriously, is my time, attention and prayer for you any more "powerful" than any other brother or sister in the church? Countless hours are spent and lots of tithe dollars devoted to salaries on pastoral care pastors. This can't possibly be what Jesus had in mind. (Now, a little footnote: we're in a stage of this journey together as a church, where I would certainly drop everything to be with you at the hospital, if that's what was needed. But, I'd do it because of our friendship, not obligation or a sense of duty.) So what are some other ways we need to reframe our thinking about the role of the clergy?
Ryan
4:06 PM
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