Well, Robin and I have just spent our first evening with the leadership of New Life Church in Little Rock, AR. We were reminded of the reasons we plant churches...because Christ is calling us to. It's how He is reaching this generation. We should not define reaching this generation as 'doing what the church has always done' in order to wait for this generation to come to it's senses and seek out the church. No, it's hearing the voice of the Spirit calling us out of the dark corners of the safety of our church communities to step into the lives of the unchurched people in our neighborhoods and communities.
We'll do this by addressing five of the most used excuses for not going to church:
1. by not being weird and so different from them that they can't relate to us even in a casual conversation let alone the sharing of Christ.
2. by being relevant in our approach to how music is presented in our church
3. by being kid friendly, a place that is gracious and loving, a safe place, an environment for kids to grow and have fun.
4. by not asking for money in order to keep the church running, but teaching how to and allowing people to give cheerfully as directed by the Spirit and their own heart and ability.
5. by presenting sermons and teachings that are Monday through Friday relevant and practical.
We are not going to hold our personal convictions concerning how we as individuals live out our walk with Christ as the truth of the gospel, or the only way it can or should be done. But we are going to love people, we are going to be patient, and kind, with self-control, and let the fruit of the Spirit live deeply through us as we build relationships with people around us.
Branches Church is all about relationships. Relationships can be our greatest strength in establishing who we are as we begin, but also it can be our greatest weakness. If those relationships are not focused in the people around us but become contained within the culture of Branches church, we lose the reason for being laborers in the harvest, the reason Christ is calling workers to plant churches, the reason why Christ came to redeem the lost.
We'll keep you posted each day!
Mike and Robin
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