I've lately been thinking about why people can be so opposed to doing things in a "cool" way. There are folks who would say that a church striving to reach a community in unique ways is a church that is not being what it was intended to be. After reading some great blogs like Perry Noble, Gary Lamb, Terry Storch and many others, I've come to this conclusion. We are not doing things to win people who are already on the same team.
Something that troubles me is seeing things out there in the blogosphere that attempt to tear down "mega churches" or churches that, believe it or not, want to reach as many people as they possibly can. That means they are actually wanting to see more people come through their doors. Crazy isn't it? People can pretend to think that they don't care about how their church presents itself, but if we're all honest, we know it does matter. Here's a way to look at it. Everybody shops for clothing. Everybody shops for clothing that is "cool". C'mon, admit it, you know you all care what people think when they see you. Whether you're someone that wants people to see you dressed in a tshirt and jeans, or suit and tie, or even a hip sylish pink shirt, we all want to present ourselves in one way or another all in the name of impressing someone. Churches have their own unique style and way to reach their community. To attack other churches for "dressing themselves" in a way that you would not prefer isn't right. (Clarification - I'm not reffering to actual clothing here, I'm talking figuratively) Sorry... bit of a rant here, but I've seen this quite a bit in many blogs out there attacking succesful churches.
So....I hope the church you are a part of is actively evaluating how they are reaching their community. And yes...I hope your church is actively looking for ways to impress, inspire and win those who are without Christ. Most importantly, I hope you individually are actively partnering with your local church to fulfill that mission.
Here's a couple of posts I've found regarding this issue:
Gary Lamb's Rant
Tony Morgan's 10 Easy Ways to Make Your Church Services More Boring
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