I might be refering to a recent book I've been reading on this topic as well as thoughts that many of us have reflected on for years. My hope is that I don't simply blog out ideas into the interweb where people quitely disagree with me, but rather that we take the time to make a lot of comments, to exchange these ideas. I want to be sure that this doesn't turn into a rant of any kind, so I am going to play the role of moderator a bit here, but for the most part I am hoping that some good discussion happens.
Goals I don't have:
- Irritate a bunch of people: not my goal... if simply hearing ideas that you don't agree with makes you angry, then this might not be for you.
- Determine popular opinion: I don't really care about what most people are thinking (in general.) I am interested in what you might have to say, specifically, and how that constructively adds to the conversation.
- Gain momentum and concensus on a perspective: Hopefully the realities that line up most with scripture will rise to the top and we will chew on them with the help of the Holy Spirit. But rest assured, this isn't about the marketing of ideas or a place where the loudest opinion wins. If everyone agrees, and we are all wrong, then we are still all wrong... but we are discussing, and praying, and hoping to hear from the Lord, both through His scripture and from his Royal Preisthood (in case you forgot, this is reference to you, and so everyone gets to play.)
- Hearing opinions out: Again, not so much interest in what most people think, in general. I am hoping that the blog is a place where we talk through issues, but that we are looking for answers through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with regard to scriptures (revelation, baby! we will pray for nothing less)
So, I hope you find this interesting. And if you don't then imagine for a moment that I am not throwing the old "questions" out there: why does pain exist, homosexuality, sin, heaven and hell, forgiveness. This blog is more foundational topically speaking. So, if you are still interested or curious, here is the premise:
Church is not a building, it is a people. But it is not only a people, it is a community of people relating to one another. Jesus said he is the head of that community. If he is the head, and we are going to get involved in His community, then we should get the clearest Biblical perspective of what church community looked like (in terms of it's values and goals) at the time Jesus set it all into motion. While that expression of community may have grown, we shouldn't have lost track of or be competing with the Biblical goals Jesus set into motion. As a result, we will be discussing elements of church community life with a complete willingness to bring back or completely boot out expressions that should help or can no longer hurt the church Jesus is wanting to build. As a result, hopefully we will end up with a list of values and sample expressions/ideas about how we can let the Lord define our culture in a way that blesses Him so we can bless one-another.
Very soon I will be throwing down the first thoughts for us to examine. I won't be grinding this stuff out like a twitter of busy thoughts. We will hopefully take the time to chew on this stuff.
I know I am looking forward to hearing what you all might have to say! And if you know other who might be interested, please, pass along the URL: http://thinkchurch.blogspot.com/
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