Creating Sacred space
I was reading 1 Timothy 2 this morning and in it Paul wants to see all people saved and worshiping God. I'd say that is a lofty vision, especially considering the state of the spiritual in the USA today.
A friend and I have been talking with a fellow we work with. He is interested in spiritual things so I gave him a little Gospel of John to begin with. He told us how he was raised in the church and even was a deacon at his church. Now this is a mainline denomination church, but he has some very twisted views of God and Scripture. I do not think it is solely because he is a sinner but I think it is also because of poor Christian education, and THAT is of major concern to me. He told me the other day that he was reading "that John book" and wanted to know if Jesus was God. I assumed that he understood that fundamental doctrine, but here was a churched guy who not only missed the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh but did not even recognize the Gospel of John as part of the Bible! I recently read some stats by the Rainer Group that showed that almost 50% of the people in the church are not born-again Christians! Add to them the number not even going to church and you have a huge mission field right here at our back doors. No wonder missions organizations say that the USA is the 5th largest mission field in the world and the largest in the western hemisphere. Our neighbors are not only unsaved, they are Biblically illiterate. More than half of the people in the USA have not had an adequate presentation of the gospel -- and most of them actually attend a church!
The church in America is not doing a good job, that is plain. That is why the first part of our vision statement reads, "We seek to help people with life's journey by: Creating an environment of intimacy with God, seeing souls saved, changing lives. (Luke 10: 27 - 28)." We want to create a space, environment, atmosphere where people feel safe, welcomed and where it is OK to question God, seek the truth, and discover intimacy with him. The hardest part will be getting them to come in the first place - this is not going to be "Field of Dreams" if you build it, they will come. To have the unsaved even enter an environment of discovery and interaction with God we have to have Christians who are passionate about sharing their journey with their unsaved friends and inviting them to look into this Christian life. This is not a pastoral job or a task reserved for deacons and elders. The entire body is called and commissioned to share their lives and their faith with their world. The unsaved will be drawn to real people who are trying to figure out life with God. It is a process and they can start just as they are.
We are not there yet, but we are pressing forward. And we simply invite others to come journey with us.
A friend and I have been talking with a fellow we work with. He is interested in spiritual things so I gave him a little Gospel of John to begin with. He told us how he was raised in the church and even was a deacon at his church. Now this is a mainline denomination church, but he has some very twisted views of God and Scripture. I do not think it is solely because he is a sinner but I think it is also because of poor Christian education, and THAT is of major concern to me. He told me the other day that he was reading "that John book" and wanted to know if Jesus was God. I assumed that he understood that fundamental doctrine, but here was a churched guy who not only missed the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh but did not even recognize the Gospel of John as part of the Bible! I recently read some stats by the Rainer Group that showed that almost 50% of the people in the church are not born-again Christians! Add to them the number not even going to church and you have a huge mission field right here at our back doors. No wonder missions organizations say that the USA is the 5th largest mission field in the world and the largest in the western hemisphere. Our neighbors are not only unsaved, they are Biblically illiterate. More than half of the people in the USA have not had an adequate presentation of the gospel -- and most of them actually attend a church!
The church in America is not doing a good job, that is plain. That is why the first part of our vision statement reads, "We seek to help people with life's journey by: Creating an environment of intimacy with God, seeing souls saved, changing lives. (Luke 10: 27 - 28)." We want to create a space, environment, atmosphere where people feel safe, welcomed and where it is OK to question God, seek the truth, and discover intimacy with him. The hardest part will be getting them to come in the first place - this is not going to be "Field of Dreams" if you build it, they will come. To have the unsaved even enter an environment of discovery and interaction with God we have to have Christians who are passionate about sharing their journey with their unsaved friends and inviting them to look into this Christian life. This is not a pastoral job or a task reserved for deacons and elders. The entire body is called and commissioned to share their lives and their faith with their world. The unsaved will be drawn to real people who are trying to figure out life with God. It is a process and they can start just as they are.
We are not there yet, but we are pressing forward. And we simply invite others to come journey with us.
posted by brian | 8:40 AM
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