What does it mean to be a different church? Has what we have been doing wrong? Does it mean changing what we believe? Changing our building? Does it mean ‘we’ have to change or just what we’re doing? Change curriculum? Change service times? Dress different? Does it mean we’ll loose the good things we have? Change leadership? Change technology?
Yes it does mean these things. And no it doesn’t mean these things.
We say that we want to be a different church, but those words can mean so many things. Whether your soul jumps with excitement to hear the words “A Different kind of Church”, or whether you feel caution, or even fear with those words, there needs to be clear understanding of what these words means.
The problem with this is so much is undiscovered right now. It’s as if right now we have a treasure map. We can give our whole lives to find the treasure at the end of the map, and dedicate ourselves to this, but what if the map is wrong. What if there isn’t really a treasure, it’s just an illusion. What if the treasure isn’t really worth all you had to give to get there? What if?
For those of us whose souls long for a new kind of church, we don’t know for sure that this journey will be worth it in the end, all we know for sure is that we’re longing for something more. I will speak for myself now, I am well aware that going after a new kind of church will cost me everything. Everything. I am also aware that in the end it might not be worth it. But to tell my soul to ‘be quiet’ to ‘not long’ will also cost me everything, for it will cost me who I am.
“The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.” – Lloyd Jones
Let us be as honest as we can about what it means to have a new kind of church, and yet have grace for the unknown. And for those of us that can even excitement for the mystery of where we are headed.
Has what the church has been doing wrong? Maybe. Just because some of what the church has been knoen for doing no longer resonates with people today does not mean that it was wrong. In fact the church has people in it today because of what it was doing. Celebrate that. Has the church does things it will need to repent of? Absolutely. The church in the past has hurt, judged, and has hindered people in there spiritual journey. Should we repent of this, Yes!
From my perspective this will always be the case. To become a new church does not mean to obtain perfection. It does not mean that we will never hinder people anymore, in fact, we will. Becoming a new church means intentionally becoming a safe church. We need to become intentionally safe people, where failure is not hidden, it is celebrated. A place where the point is not the destination but the journey. It’s not about getting ‘somewhere’, but celebrating people for who they are today. It’s about a church admitting our weakness as a church, and becoming a safe place for others to be weak in our midst.
Does it mean changing what we believe? Maybe. I heard a pastor say one time that he has always preached the word of God, and he could take any sermon that he has preached in the last 20 years and wouldn’t change a thing. He was so proud. I was so sad. How sad is it to not grow in our thoughts and beliefs. So often, we ‘learn’ from people who think the exact same way that we do, we surround ourselves in settings that make us feel good, but where we are never really challenged. A new kind of church is not a church that has finally figured it all out but is ok with and even encourages growth and new thought.
What would it look like where doubt is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of being on a journey? A place where questions are encouraged, and instead of looking for the best answers, we seek the best questions. Is it possible to be a church that sees people ‘struggling’ with their faith and celebrate the fact that their faith is becoming their own.
Will we have to change our building? Maybe. Changing the building to ‘look’ different is not the goal. Becoming ‘cool’ is not the goal. But what would be left if we lost our church building? Would we loose our church? Is there enough besides our building that if we lost it all, we would not loose our identity? Our buildings will change, but they will continue to change to reflect who we are as a church. What does it look like for a new kind of church to have its identity in people?
Does becoming a new kind of church mean ‘we’ have to change or just want we’re doing? Yes and No. To become a new kind of church will mean deep gut wrenching change, from the inside out. Yes, we will do things differently, more differently than probably ever before, or maybe we won’t. Maybe it will look like it did 2000 years ago. I do know that this kind of change cannot take place without growing pains, without sacrifice, even at times mourning. However, if in the end people feel like they have to be anyone other then who God created them to be, then we will have missed the point altogether.
As for the rest of the questions: curriculum, what will we loose, what does it look like? And many other questions. That’s the mystery, that’s the journey. I don’t think the world needs for us to know what it looks like to be a new kind of church, as much as it needs for us to be longing for and, to be journeying towards one. If we try to wait until we figure it out before inviting people to join with us, then we’ll never grow, because we need people who think different, who look different, who talk different than us to help us figure out what it really does look like….
To Be a New Kind of Church.
