Blessed are the un-cool. People sometimes assume that because I’m a progressive 30-year-old who enjoys Mumford and Sons and has no children, I must want a super-hip church—you know, the kind that’s called “Thrive” or “Be” and which boasts “an awesome worship experience,” a fair-trade coffee bar, its own iPhone app, and a pastor who looks like a Jonas Brother.
While none of these features are inherently wrong, (and can of course be used by good people to do good things), these days I find myself longing for a church with a cool factor of about 0. That’s right. I want a church that includes fussy kids, old liturgy, bad sound, weird congregants, and…brace yourself…painfully amateur “special music” now and then. Why? Well, for one thing, when the gospel story is accompanied by a fog machine and light show, I always get this creeped-out feeling like someone’s trying to sell me something. It’s as though we’re all compensating for the fact that Christianity’s not good enough to stand on its own so we’re adding snacks. The Dreaded Welcome: Rethinking the Church Meet and Greet : Theology21 | Renovating Theology for a New Generation. The Dreaded Welcome: Rethinking the Church Meet and Greet Posted by Shaun Wissmann on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 · 1 Comment Last week, we talked about the Church and how it might be failing you and the people around you.
I implored you to be a part of the reconciliation process allowing for Christ to be the Head of your life, and your Church. However, one thing I have begun to realize is that it is easier said than done, especially considering the fact that some of you may not even have churches anymore. So I think we need to go step by step. We need to work through that reconciliation process together and what better way to start than with the welcome time. How many of you have walked into a Church dreading the “welcome time?” Have you ever wondered why we feel this way? Personally, I was a hater of the welcome time because it felt forced, and because it quickly showed me how small my Church family had become. Then I moved to Peru and my hater heart was changed in a single palpitation. Free Fall by Prolifik films. CARM - Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.
ReligiousTolerance.org by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Chinese.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object) BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 100 versions and 50 languages. Early Christian Writings: New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, Church Fathers.
The Brick Testament.