The New England Church
By
I LOVE THE CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND, AND I BELIEVE WE ARE LIVING IN A DAY WHEN THE STAKES COULDN’T BE HIGHER AND THE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE CHRIST AND CHANGE LIVES COULDN’T BE GREATER!
I love all the churches in New England looking to make Jesus famous one life at a time. One thing that really ticks me off (and there are only a few things:-) is when I hear someone bashing God’s Church, picking apart God’s church (not just my church, but any church that is listening to Jesus and doing exactly what He says – that’s not to say that we can’t point out sin or offer suggestions for improvement, or evaluate, how else will we get better at the mission of Jesus?); but all too often we can get caught up in criticizing the church in front of an unchurched culture – we think we are relating with the unchurched culture but we are only confirming their suspicions. A good friend of mine recently said, “What if New England is the most unreached region in the country because the church is the most divided in this region. It’s time for churches to stop competing against one another and start completing one another.” In fact we are going to partner with a ton of New England churches at the end of the summer for something called www.UnitedLove2010.com. You can check it out!
Here is what I believe about the New England Church (this is an email I recently wrote to my staff):
TheDC will reach New England for Christ because there are a handful of hardcore Christ-learners unwilling to let their neighbors, co-workers and friends die and go to hell. TheDC will reach thousands for Christ because there is a staff team willing to do whatever it takes to reach those far from God with the life altering gospel of Jesus Christ! TheDC will see hundreds of unchurched people every year follow Jesus in baptism because there is a team of committed Christ followers willing to GIVE AND SERVE AND INVITE LIKE THEY NEVER HAVE BEFORE. TheDC will experience life change through hundreds of life groups meeting in homes, pubs, clubs, cafes, and college campuses all around Greater Manchester because we believe that ongoing life change happens best in the context of authentic community.
We will change the spiritual landscape of this great city because we worship a Jesus WHO IS BIGGER THAN WE COULD EVER IMAGINE AND HE IS WORTHY OF OUR ABSOLUTE BEST IN EVERY SINGLE AREA AND HE IS UNWILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH!
We will feed the poor, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and give hope to the hopeless in ways that inspire unchurched people to investigate Jesus and want to follow Him. We will not be a church that simply SPEAKS THE WORD OF GOD, BUT ALSO LISTENS TO THE CULTURE AND FINDS WAYS TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND REACH THE COMMUNITY WITH THE GOSPEL.
TheDC will move into buildings 100x our current size and we will see hundreds of people invite Christ into their life for the very first time because you guys REFUSE TO DWELL ON THE FEW WHO LEAVE, BUT REMAIN RELENTLESS TOWARD THOSE WHO’VE NEVER COME! Every available seat is an opportunity for life change, every filled seat is a heart experiencing Jesus!
We will find creative ways to communicate the message of Christ to a culture that is far from God and completely unchurched. We will see the most spectacular sinners be ruined by the cross of Christ and commit their lives to sharing Jesus with all those around them. We will take the gospel far beyond Manchester and start DC campuses all over New England so the most unchurched region of our country can become the most TRANSFORMED REGION OF OUR COUNTRY.
We will give and go to lands far away in order to plant network churches; why should we keep the gospel we have to just American soil, but why not bring Jesus to the ends of the earth. We will impact the poorest of the poor around our globe through partnering with remarkable Christ-centered organizations to be the hands and feet of Jesus through TheDC Global Initiative. We will send teams of DC members and life groups to serve cross culturally in places that have never heard the gospel or don’t have enough resources to keep their own children alive. We will stand for biblical justice and fight against gross injustices such as human trafficking and the sex trade.
We will help young men find freedom from porn, young girls remain pure until marriage, teenagers not to take their own life because their dad has walked out on them, marriages to turn to Christ so they will stop fighting each other and start FIGHTING FOR EACH OTHER.
We won’t GIVE UP, WE WON’T WALK AWAY, WE WON’T BACK DOWN AND WE WON’T BAIL ON THE JESUS WHO CALLED US, COMMISSIONED US, AND CAUSED US TO FIND LIFE AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS!
We are the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST AND WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE!
This is an inspiring post. I love it. I couldn’t agree more; churches need to stop competing with one another and start completing one another. I will not partake in criticizing and condemning another specific church. I refuse. I love the churches here in New England and the north east: TheDC, Granite United, The Journey, Next Level Church, Grace, Northway, Fellowship, etc. The leaders of these churches are incredible people – they’re the real deal! I love being able to play a small role in what God is doing up here!
With that said, allow me to be honest for a second: I do struggle with associating with the church in general, particularly in regards to historical (and even contemporary) occurrences with which I cannot associate. For instance, the church has ordained some of the most atrocious and heinous crimes against humanity: the crusades, the inquisition, slavery, homophobia, the degradation of women, religious bigotry (especially toward Muslims), just to name a few. How can we disassociate ourselves as followers of Jesus from these atrocities while not slandering the church in general? I feel as if we need to give an honest appraisal of these events and attitudes held by the church – they are heinous and contrary to all that is Jesus. What makes matters worse is that I have encountered some who seek to justify, or at least assuage, these acts of the church and the impact they have had on humanity. I can’t think of anything else that enrages me more than entertaining such thoughts, especially coming from one who claims to be a follower of Christ! Even more, many of these attitudes are maintained in the general ethos of church culture at times. The gay people I know will not step foot in a church, as they are sure they will be ridiculed and despised, if not overtly, at least in covert disapproval. They will not be authentically welcomed with loving hospitality. A general sentiment of mild hatred is maintained toward Muslims, perhaps because of recent terrorist attacks coupled with the unholy allegiance of nationalism and Jesus. So these are not necessarily past mistakes of the church, but remain somewhat prevalent even today.
But this is why I love the New England United network, because this is not the case amongst these churches. Yet, we still bear the title ‘church’ and are thus associated with the historical church to some extent by default. In this light, how can we separate from being identified as homophobic, intolerant and hateful religious bigots without tearing apart Jesus’ bride? This is my struggle which I seek to honestly reconcile. Any thoughts…anyone?