Relevant Church

Relevant Church

In my last two blogs, I told of what kind of church our pastor wants to build and then on the possibilities such a church, when built, may have on the town. Now, I want to continue the theme for just one more blog. I want to finish by emphasizing the relevance of such a church as this could be. Not a new model but at least a reflection of the original church after Pentecost. A church that is indeed relevant in today’s harsh winner-take-all world.

Far too often in this cynical, politically correct world, the most vulnerable people – orphans, widows, homeless, and marginalised – are left right where they are to fend for themselves while the rest of us simply worry about ME and MINE. We are too often more concerned that OUR church survives intact with as many as we can sensibly carry with us. Well, I’ve got some news for you all – that is not how Jesus intended His Bride to be. Yes, that’s right, we all too often forget that we are the Bride of Christ and we are supposed to reflect His image. ALL of His image and not just those bits we can ’afford’ to reflect. It is time for us to not just go to church – it is time for us to be church.

A church of influence

1. A church where the lost are saved – there are thousands upon thousands of churches throughout the Western world where not one single person has been brought to salvation in the last years. Yes years. What is the church doing if it is not introducing people to Jesus?

2. A church where the not-yet Christians can be brought to a knowledge of God. A place that so reflects Jesus that people feel they can know him, even before they come to salvation. A church where God is SEEN to be moving – where the sick are healed, the bound are freed, and the blind see, the deaf hear, and the lame walk.

3. A church where the lonely, the poor, and the vulnerable are the priority. Where the church is seen as the loving and helping hand. A place of safety not a place of “Thou shalt not . . .” A place of love, laughter, care, and freedom.

A relevant church

A church that belies the dreadful old cliché of “the middle classes on their knees” – a place that regards the person not their position nor their standing. A praying church certainly but also a practical church.

A church that is truly caring, A place where you can talk safely, where you can shed or at least share those burdens.

A church that is reaching, A place that does not ‘walk by on the other side’ but that reaches out to help in some way. Also a place where Jesus is taken outside the church and not kept boxed up – sometimes completely hidden.

A church that is touching. A place that does not hold at arms length, but would rather gather you in and hold you close in a loving hug. Do you know how many people have never been hugged or have never been told that anybody loves them – its countless thousands, even millions. Have you ever seen the real effect of hugging someone and telling them that they are loved by Jesus and by you? Try it and you will never be the same again.

A church that is really loving. This is what Jesus did with ALL the people who ever came across His path – He loved them. Even the Pharisees and the Roman soldiers who crucified Him – He hated their sin but He loved them, the sinners. That is our key too – we have to love the people, love the people some more, then love them again.

A church where the love and presence of God can be felt as soon as you park your car. A church based on demonstrating Gods love rather than just talking about it.

That is a church that is relevant in today’s world. That is a church that can be the Bride of Christ. That is the challenge and the calling to the church today. Now I know why God put so much love in my own heart.