Our scripture readings for this 40 Days from Dreams to Decisions involve the opening of Acts (Acts 1:1-11and then the opening scene from the day of Pentecost (2:1-4). It introduces three themes that will recur throughout the book of Acts. (1) The Holy Spirit guides the church; (2) The Gospel crosses over boundaries (from Jerusalem throughout Judea into Samaria and to the ends of the Earth); (3) the role of the Christians in being witnesses for Christ. Actually, it's all one theme: the Holy Spirit enables the Disciples to cross boundaries with the Gospel.
The boundaries at the time were the boundaries that had been defined by ritual laws (compare Deuteronomy 23:1 and Acts 8:25-40), gender boundaries (Acts 16:11-15), and most importantly ethno-religious boundaries--the boundary between Jew and Gentile (Acts 10-11). It is difficult to express just how rigid these boundaries were at the time. But the Gospel was and is for everyone. It had to push past these boundaries.
I wonder what boundaries we experience today. I think one is the boundary between people comfortable in the church culture and people who are not. Decades ago, churches could assume that most people were Christian. People were going to go to church on Sunday morning. the only question was "where?" Churches competed for members the way businesses competed for customers. Churches could rely on people's embedded knowledge of church culture to yield members. As a result, Churches focused more on gaining more members and less on actually sharing the gospel and making Disciples.
Fewer and fewer people are looking for a church home for all of the cultural reasons they did in previous generations. People still need Jesus as much as they ever have. The church needs to relearn what we have forgotten. The church needs to learn in new ways how to take the gospel past the boundaries. Think about all of the skills it takes to come to worship on a Sunday morning--hymn reading skills, Bible passage finding skills, sermon listening skills. Perhaps we take this for granted since we've grown up in church culture but, this an many other conventions that govern our shared life can't be taken for granted as we answer Christ's call to be his witnesses.
2 comments:
1000% agree. You are on the right track Andy.
The love among members our church family is a strong bond and a shining example to the world of seeing Jesus in the face of others; in spite of that, we're not attracts those who chose to remain uninvolved. I have attended other churches where attempts were made to "bring the sheep into the fold." Unfortunately the changes have been unsuccessful and time- and energy-consuming. Arlington FCC has so much to offer people, but apparently our perception of what they need must undergo a change. What are the needs of Gen X and Y and beyond, without turning away those who are comfortable with what we have? I pray that as we study, think, ponder, read, and pray, God will enlighten us in what God would have the Church become in a world of need.
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