serving the city part 1

I spoke at a Black Hawk Area Evangelical gathering, and thought I'd blog a few posts around the thoughts that came together for that.

Twelve years ago, I was involved in a deep church conflict that ended with me leaving the church. In and after that experience, I really began to consider the core of "church". What is the deepest nature of the Church to be? God took me into Scripture, into learning about the early Church, into a walk through church history that allowed me to see the rhythms of the Church through the centuries, and over the past few years into exploring the Church across North America and the world.

One discovery is something that I was convinced of even before that conflict 12 years ago, but it has become a more deeply rooted conviction and that is that the Church must be a serving community in their local community. Why?

Because the culture in which we live will demand that we do.

It’s a new day in our culture. Gone are the 1950’s when the church had a place at the table in the community and when going to church was more of a norm. Church, to many, is an inconsequential, powerless institution or club.

Today’s culture is more and more unchurched. I heard a story through one of our staff members of a little boy who asked his dad in the car one day, "What are all of these t's on buildings around town?" He wasn't familiar with the symbol of a cross. This is more common, as a generation began to leave the church in the 70's and has now raised kids without any church context. Large percentages will not come to the church; the church has to go to them.

In this posmodern world, truth starts with the tangible and experiential. Real is everything. People are weary of words. The Church has lost trust, credibility, and integrity because we’ve often not demonstrated or embodied the message we speak, and our lives look little different from our unbelieving friends. I know 100% as a parent that our kids are learning more from my actions than from my words. Words can help clarify my deeds, but without the deeds verifying the words, those words remain empty. Sacrificially serving our community in love helps people to see the sacrificial love of Jesus that we talk about. It allows us to meet real needs in our cities, and helps us to rub shoulders with people we'd normally remain isolated from. Genuine serving touches hearts as we notice people and care about the well-being of our community. The Good News becomes tangible as the Church begins to show up and conversation about Jesus our redeemer will carry weight and validity.

In Dallas, at Missional Renaissance over the past few years, we talked about how exciting it is to be the Church in today's culture. Our culture is currently both spiritual and altruistic in nature. People are seeking meaning spiritually and they are wanting to make a difference in the world. If the Church is not out on the street serving and loving, she will not be a part of the spiritual conversations nor will she be invited to be a part of the efforts taking place to make positive change in our world.