A great church checklist
Joe (JR) (from “More than Cake“) has given us a great church checklist in a post (humorously) titled “Top 10 Reasons My Church Sucks“. This is what Joe says about the phrase “My Church Sucks” (it’s not what you think):
Saying “My Church Sucks!†is a proclamation that we are a drawing power that sucks people into the life of Christ and the liberty of His Church.
Saying, “My Church Sucks†is both a profession of who we are, and a confession of hope for what we must become.
Saying, “My Church Sucks†is the best thing I can say about my church and it is the dream I have for every church!
So, what is Joe’s “Top 10 List”? Here it is:
10. We are faithful neighbors to those nearby (Proverbs 27:10).
9. We are friends of Jesus who share in the life-transforming knowledge of God (John 15:15).
8. We are a countercultural community that lives in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5).
7. We bring joy to one another and live in harmony (Philippians 2:2-4).
6. We don’t just talk about maturity, we model it (Philippians 3:16-17).
5. We give financially to those in need (Philippians 4:15-16)
4. We eat with sinners and welcome them into our family (Luke 15:1-2)
3. We do not judge those outside the church, we love them (Luke 7:36-50).
2. We reject the stumbling block of religion and embrace relationship with Jesus (Matthew 18:6-9).
1. We preach the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified–and the lost get sucked in! (Acts 2:41)
Like I said… a good checklist for any church. How do you and your church compare?
I think there are some really awesome challenges on this list, that so many of us struggle with. Any church you come in contact with would be really quick to agree with everyone of the above, and in word practice these things; however when you look at who is in the meeting week to week you will without fail notice that everyone comes in and acts like a “good christian,” no one lets on what they struggle with, and should someone happen to come in who does not hide their struggles, they will be made to feel so uncomfortable, that they are unlikely to ever come back. You will also find that many of the members are very good at compartmentalizing their life into Church, Family, and Business; this does not allow relationship, it is merely religion, which will not bring salvation. Thanks for such a thought provoking post.
Tommy,
You said, “Any church you come in contact with would be really quick to agree with everyone of the above, and in word practice these things…” I agree. I wonder if people outside the church are better at judging whether or not a church practices these things?
-Alan
Alan,
glad you found my post useful enough to repost here brother. The only bummer is that you did not use my awesome graphic of the vacuum 🙂
Tommy,
My list does not just offer intellectual affirmations, it describes actions that are a part of my church (Reunion Church) and also the aspiration of what I still want us to be. (see #6 as one example)
With respect, I must disagree on one point; not every church will affirm these things are current reality for them… I have friends who work with dysfunctional churches to help them bring change because the people know they fall short of this stuff. I hasten to add that not every church in the NT was all of these things either. so what you bring up here is not a problem with the “church” it is a problem with people who are flawed and in need of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
Tommy, you wrote, “…when you look at who is in the meeting week to week you will without fail notice that everyone comes in and acts like a “good christian,â€
Everyone? Really? Not a single person in your church is authentic? That is truly sad Tommy. But I would like to ask, why is this an important thing for you to comment about? Why is it important for you to point out how others fail in living the fullness of the Gospel? I am not asking this rhetorically Tommy, I am genuinely trying to understand why this was an important statement for you to make about your entire church?
I also would be interested to know how you see this description of church played out in your own life. What are you doing to be these things and model them in your church?” I would love to know.
Joe (JR),
No, I don’t use images on my blog. That was very creative though… and great thoughts about the church!
-Alan
yeah, I noticed that Alan. Any particular reason you never use images?
for me, the creative process of design helps me think.
PS
I am not getting email notification via email of new posts. Not sure why, but I thought you should know.
Joe (JR),
Nope. There’s no particular reason that I don’t use pics. I like images on other blogs, but I’ve just chosen not to use them here.
I’ll check into the email notifications. Are you talking about notifications for follow-up comments?
-Alan