I want to make another post about some of the things my pastor, Stephen Hammond, said in his message on Sunday. If you want to listen to all of it, you can do so through his podcast here. The section I am quoting below begins at 13:00 from the July 20 message.
What would our community look like if we began to really understand where God was wanting to take us?
Could you imagine a community where everyone was accepted?
Could you imagine a community where everyone got a chance to participate in what God was doing? Even our friends who haven’t yet trusted Jesus? There’s a starting point for them too. Even for our atheist friends, or for whatever friends you may have. Even for people who have been Christians for a long time. What would it look like if everyone got a chance to play, and service wasn’t just for the paid staff?
Imagine a community where everyone was forgiven, and if you hurt somebody, they would just say, “You know what? I forgive you as God has forgiven me.”
Imagine a community where everyone is accepted. Democrats hung out with our Republicans, and our Librarians hung out there too. I mean, Libertarians. Librarians are welcome also.
…We are a community that wants to help take care of the world’s problems. Imagine a community where AIDS is taken care of in our lifetime. Imagine a community where no one in El Salvador has to drink dirty water again.
Imagine a community where whatever your race, whether black, or white, or Hispanic, or Asian, when people looked at you, they just saw a heart, a soul, and a spirit.
I really like Stephen’s thinking here (which is part of the reason we attend Mosaic). I think all of us must continually imagine and reimagine the church, what we could do, what we could look like, and what we could accomplish, if we simply changed a few things.
I have a blog post I’ve been working on for over a year now called “What if?” It contains all my musings about how the church could function differently and more effectively than it does today. Someday, I’ll get around to posting it, though right now, in it’s present state, it is so long it would take over 20 posts.
On a related note, I just received an advance copy of Frank Viola’s Reimagining Church in the mail today. I am pretty excited to read it. As I was browsing the book, I found a short section on p. 27 called “I Have a Dream” which is where he lays out his dream for the church. If a get a chance later this week, I will post his dream.
I received the following e-mail from a concerned reader today. I imagine other readers might share similar concerns, so I will post it here (anonymously for now):
Here was my reply:
What do you think about all of this? Also, how are you and your church doing at reaching people in your community?
Great quote. But would he have, or did he, add “regardless of sexual orientation”? I say this as one who clearly believes that any sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage is wrong. But I also say that people who choose other lifestyles, heterosexual or homosexual, should be accepted, just as atheists and libertarians are accepted, in the hope that they will come to faith in Jesus which will presumably involve repentance. Would your pastor dare to say this?
I have to say this, and I don’t want to. This stuff concerns me. The world never has and never will be what this pastor speaks of. I believe the problem is one of mixing apples and oranges. Becoming friends with unbelievers is essential and I do have Mormon, atheist and other types of friends. Telling the truth however is MORE of a problem than becoming friends with others. I do think there is a problem in the church and if its in the church its unfortunately in the culture. Its post modernism the idea that truth is not relative but non existent. This problem permeates churches and society as a whole. The answer is -“The truth in love”. Becoming friends is more than emotionalism- its connection on a deep level and this takes time and committment. I think we all fail here at times- some(me) more than others. I believe the problem in the church IS NOT the way unbelievers are treated (though that may at times be a problem). I believe its the way BELIEVERS are treated.(Jesus said we would be noted by the way WE loved EACH OTHER not non Christians-though that would flow from that) I have seen more believers WOUNDED by their own churches- particularly those with problems they have had since before they were Christians.(I personally got more emotional help in twelve step groups and therapy). The Lordship controvery, the lack of understanding of the true Gospel and myriad other theological issues, along with a sin busting vs. a grace enhancing view of sanctification (not toleration of sin but a proper motivation for serving Christ). have been bigger issues. The unbeliever in churches I have frequented too often hear LESS of the truth (I heard the truth of my spiritual condition and was convicted when I went to church as an unbeliever) and too much effort is made NOT to offend. I am sorry, maybe I am or have been going to the wrong churches, but I see problems almost the reverse of this pastor. And lastly- Mormons ARE more OUTWARDLY moral than many Christians- SORRY BUT SO WHAT! Hate to put it that way, but that isn’t what Christianity is about. The Pharisees were more outwardly moral than others and used it as a bludgeon. Now please don’t go the opposite way and see this is an excuse for sinning- NO WAY! Because sin was dealt with at the cross we are free ! FREEDOM IS THE KEY! Sin enslaves, but its sinful to the utmost to walk around with the idea that my religiosity is pleasing to God. Sure we can always learn something from others- anyone- but its a real stretch to see people walk around in their own self-righteousness and that being looked kindly upon. This is a long post- but reading more of what you say- maybe I am jumping the gun- however I get concerned when I hear how non-christians get offended- that bothers me when I see the lack of effective teaching and loving needed by believers who then can be able to win souls for Christ outside the church. If I am being too harsh I apologize. This is just so deep with me.
Peter,
Though I don’t want to put words in his mouth, I think Stephen would put it almost exactly as you have put it.
MarkR,
You make good points.
The bottom line for me is that I want to be part of a church that:
1. teaches the truth of Scripture
2. effectively loves and reaches out to people who are not “Christians”
Generally, churches do one or the other of these quite well. It is a rare church that can do both well. Some get too far off into the dangers of postmodernism, while others are still stuck in the traps of modernism.
Mosaic still has lots of things to figure out (as do we all) about how best to remain faithful to the truth while living with others in love. But overall, it seems they are trying to find that balance between truth and love.
Hello my friend. Where can we hear the entire sermon via audio?