Thursday, November 03, 2011

What Kind of Church?


Since coming to Grace the question I’ve been asked the most is this one: What is your vision for Grace?  Here’s my answer: I believe that a church where people care and truth matters is the only kind of church the New Testament prescribes.

We’ve all seen churches where the people were caring, loving, and involved in doing good in their community while being satisfied with shallow teaching and a lack of theological thinking. On the other hand, we probably know some churches that are great at getting people to think biblically and theologically but seem to have no time to love people, care for them, and be active as transformational agents in their neighborhoods.

I’ve said all along that I’m greedy! I believe Grace has to be both. We have to be a place where people care, and truth matters. And, as importantly, we can’t let the two fight against each other. We can’t see ourselves as a group where some think, and others do; where some know the Bible, and other know how to love and care and reach out to the world. That just isn’t the way the New Testament describes the Body of Christ. We all are to be maturing as Christ-followers which means that what we know must shape who we are and how we love.

For evidence we need go no further than the verse we’ve adopted as a summary of our mission. Note well what Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:5: But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Did you see the connection between an instructed person and a transformed life? It is obvious that biblical instruction is a priority, but it turns out such instruction isn’t an end in itself. It has as its purpose the fueling of love from hearts that are pure, as well as consciences that are properly taught and active, and a faith that is authentic to its core. Taken together these form a conspicuously transformed life that is able to be an agent of transformation in our world. That’s our goal! And my vision for Grace is that we work and pray tirelessly so that we become more and more the church where people really care, and truth really matters!

Hope this helps,

David

2 Comments:

At 1:01 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

But so much of what the Bible says is true has been proven to be false, such as a historic Adam and Eve, the age of the earth, and the flood. How can an institution claim that the Bible is the truth when so many of its stories have been proven false?

 
At 9:26 PM , Blogger Ari C'rona said...

I so agree, David. In my experience, it's very difficult to find a community with both attributes. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

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