the scourge of the community?

"if our church ceased to exist, just disappeared one day from our civic-community, would anyone in our community miss it?"
startling question isn't it? For many cities, the disappearance of a church might be the cause for cheering and celebration, not tears.
but i don't want this to be a post pointing out all the failures of the local church. there's enough of that in blog land :) Here's what i'd like to get from you (especially those of you who are a part of the St. Matthew family) What kinds of things do you think we could do as a church to ensure that our community here in "the lakes" WOULD miss us if we ever happened to disappear from the scene?
if these could be attainable that would be best b/c i really am interested in what might come of this. so all you silent readers, what do you think? (if you are afraid to reply, you can publish anonymously, there is a radial button that will allow you to do so after you click on the "comment" link.)
thanks!
14 Comments:
In my opinion, this church would be missed by the community. Well, by me at least.
But maybe we can do more things that call to the public, that are announced by more than heading in the weekly newsletter. You have to go to church every week to know what's going on, and sometimes even that's not enough. Maybe there can be more just open church events, like a BBQ, or a bonfire, or we can host things that the community does and needs. Other than that... I'm not sure. I know there's money and time and space to think about, which makes doing something like that hard.
great point... i like the idea of more consistent, open, hang-out time... a "no registrations needed" kind of thing.
and if people don't come who cares, you keep it open and sometimes it will work like magic. neat thought!
Instead of focusing on what 'program' we can host, we need to realize that not everyone is comfortable in a church setting. We need to go to where people are. That's what Jesus did.
Go find needs in the community. I know some small groups are starting to regularly do service projects. These are great.
But imagine doing more for the unchurched in this way. It's crazy and scary, but I think if others in my church body were doing it, I would be more confident in partaking.
I think it's sad to think that the church needs "space" or "money" to serve the community. We need nothing. We don't need a building. We don't need an organization. Heck, we don't need a "church". We simply need Christ.
I hate the idea that people should "come to us" at picnics or any other church functions. That's not Christianity. Jesus told us to "go into the world", he didn't say "have functions and invite people".
So, as a church, lets ditch this "inside our walls" mindset. It's about showing love, not getting people onto our campus.
I think, the church is known by it's people. The bible even refers to the church as the people and I think people still today think that way. When people see me they see a member of st. matts. So, when I go an do things out in the world it reflects on St. Matts.
At the same time, the church is about outreach. So, I think the church and it's members need to go out into the world and do more things there. Whether it's to host a bible study, volunteer at the local old folks home, help needie people in the community, have a ministry that brings meals to parents of new born children for the first week, or other things where we go out into the community and reach people with love.
This will reflect back on us, not just as people but as a church body. People would miss us if we were always going out and showing them the love.
Replying to the previous "anonymous" post: it seems a bit harsh. I agree our goal is not to host events so people come to us. But we certainly need a home base where, above all, we gather to worship. We also need a place to gather in support of our efforts (serving, outreach, etc.). Bigger events, like picnics, are a way to put out the welcome mat to our neighbors and let people ease into the action.
That said, if our church is to be a vital part of our community, we need to be visible in both a "hanging-out" mode and also a "serving" mode. Whether at coffee shops, restaurants, soccer games, we need to show that our lives center around Christ. We don't need to wear a St. Matthew logo for people to pick up on what it's all about for us.
Also, we need to be there front and center for charitable organizations in our community. We need to show our compassion and show these groups that we are dependable helpers in their efforts. There are already some groups that turn to us because we have a good track record. We need to keep up the good works no matter if the service is St. Matthew-led or not.
I think I would weigh in with this (basing it solely on the original blog entry by dion): The question was: Would the community miss St Matthew if it were gone?
I would say that people wouldn't miss the activities that St. Matthew hosts (and only the members would miss the worship time, etc, which isn't who we're talking about).
As a matter of fact, I know from conversations with St. Matthew's neighbors that they'd be HAPPY if St. Matthew and it's large campus were gone from the community simply BECAUSE of it's events (the huge events actually bother the neighbors around us). However, no one would be offended by a simple, quiet helping hand when they needed it.
People are selfish. We'd only be missed if we're doing something that is truly serving them. I think St. Matthew does some of this, but not nearly enough to "be missed". I think if we were in the community more, doing things for people that weren't asked for, weren't expected, and showed that Christains are different....then we might be missed. Until then, I fear from my conversations, our events just make us the ever encroaching institution.
Ok, I couldn't help posting this follow up when it came to me:
Ok, we've all heard people in Europe say "I hate the American government, but I like the American People", right? They distinguish between the instituation and the people. I'd suggest that we're only smart to realize that Americans generally think this same way about the Christian Churches. They hate the churches but don't have any problems with individual Christians.
So, I guess I would suggeset that we should think about that as we go out to serve. Showing up as "St Matthew" may not be as effective in outreach as showing up as a bunch of Christians (if they find out we go to St. Matthew, great, if not, the Glory goes to God alone, where it belongs).
Just had to add this additional thought related to this about our church outreaching and why I see personal outreach as more effective than corporate outreach.
interesting stuff. so is the whole question being called out as inappropriate? I guess i'm wondering about that as i hear some of the dialogue. Should people miss the church-proper or should that not matter.... if st. matthew (or any church) ceased to exist would it be better if people just noticed that there community wasn't quite as nice as it was before and couldn't put their finger on it???
i don't know if that made sense. anyone?
Made total sense to me (although, I'm weird like that). And, I would agree, but I have a feeling others may not.
I see alot of this depends on one's definition of "church". To me it's the people (God's worldwide church) that is important, not the institution (the local church). If God's people disappeared, I would hope people would notice a change in the community. If the institution disappeared and the people were still there, I would hope the community wouldn't see much change....people would continue being "The Church".
So the question is: Does it matter if a Church institution is gone? I guess my hope would be that Christians would carry on their same lives of witness and service together with or without a building or a 501c3.
Still, i ask the question what could we as a faith community be doing to make our presence appreciated and even depended on(whether as an institution or as a grassroots presence) in the greater community.
Maybe even more directly how can church leaders help facilitate this process so people actually go grassroots? any ideas?
I'd say you've done it, at least once, that I can think of. The moving day for the lady from Starbucks was a key example.
If she wasn't from st. matts, this was a perfect execution of a leader motivating to serve the community (if she was from st matts, inreach is great, but not what we're talking about). A need was found. A leader contacted the people and motivated/encouraged them. The people showed up in droves. Seems picture perfect to me.
Although, I don't think this is just a leader's responsibility, but the responsibility of everyone in the community. If there were a way for people to point out community needs they see, get them to the leadership, those leaders could help organize and encourage....seems like that could work well.
interestingly (or maybe not) is the picture that i chose for the post. It is of coventry cathedral, a church in England that was bombed out in WWII. Instead of knocking the place down and starting over (though it was hopelessly wrecked) they built a new building adjacent to it and left this older portion standing as memorial to what had happened. Not only that, but this church has focused themselves on the work of reconciliation between cultures and nations. an interesting way they are actually using their building (or what happened to it) to impact the world for good :)
Not exactly what we've been talking about... thought i'd add it anyway :)
Hey NeoEusebius,
Great comment, and I'm with you 100%. God blesses and works through the organized Church. I would never advocate getting rid of them.
BUT, when too many modern Christians imply that we can't do ministry outside of them or without partnering with them, that's where I throw down the gauntlet. It's crap to think that the only ministry done for Christ is through the organized church...yet that's how many Christians think.
Jesus did teach in the synagogues, but contrast how many verses in the Gospels put him there as opposed to being out with the people and "In The World". This tells me our personal ministry should outweigh our "institutional ministry thinking" on a daily basis.
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