Day One…and an Intriguing Question
So it’s day one as full time staff at Connexus Community Church. I am so excited and grateful for this opportunity to launch a church that really works for people. Yep. People. Just plain people. People who go to WalMart or Starbucks on Sunday, rather than to church. People who think another hour of sleep beats meeting God. People who are curious about God, but really don’t believe the church can help them. People.
Leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus through irresistible, relevant environments is what Connexus is all about. I’m so excited that our staff will meet today to pray, work for a few hours and then (actually) take our families out for dinner and a round of laser tag (yah…laser tag!) so we can celebrate this special time. So much to do. So much to pray about. So much to plan. So much to celebrate. It’s so great being in this together, isn’t it?
Here’s a day one thought starter: Jay Hardwick is asking some great questions on his blog about why Christians don’t attract non-Christians into our life in Christ. Most non-Christians think of Christians as uptight, dangerous and hypocritical people. Why?
It’s not because we’re "spiritual". People are attracted to spiritual Yesterday, the Dalai Lama visited Toronto and attracted 30,000 people at the Roger’s Center. People were drawn to him. Why?
I wonder if Christians (me included) have missed the boat entirely
because we decide that maturity consists of breadth of knowledge (the I
just did a 75 week bible study on Revelation and know a lot kind of deal). But the
truth is, we come home from Bible study and yell at people and kick the
cat. No wonder outsiders avoid us. No wonder people flee us. Unlike the Dalai Lama, we fail to exhibit love, humility or peace. And while the Dalai Lama may be "spiritual", he is no comparison to Jesus, who perfectly exhibited the character of God, which is love.
I wonder if maturity is not breadth of knowledge, but depth of
application: taking the simple-to-understand-but-difficult-to-do teachings of Jesus and scripture like love, grace, and humility,
and applying them at every level of our lives.
I hope that’s what Connexus is about. I hope that we are able to offer relevant environments that draws people into the full depth of God’s love. How deeply would you want love to be integrated into your life? If we can begin to think like that, maybe the revolution might begin….
