The CNN website reports today that a New Haven, Connecticut church held a special Easter Sunday service yesterday at a rather unique venue -- Toad's Place, a well-known local bar.
The Frontline City Church rocked its first service in New Haven, bringing together folks from every walk of life.
"The Bible never talks about what the building should look like, so we're open to meet everywhere and anywhere for God's glory," said Frontline City Church Lead Pastor Justin Kendrick.
Kendrick admits the approach is new and non-traditional, but the idea -- and the intent -- is one of the oldest sentiments there is. Come one, come all, in a spirit of community.
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I think a church service should be in a holy place. Perhaps, this minister would like to bring others to Christ, and he can do that on his own time in a bar or another venue. But, I believe a service should be conducted in a sacred place.
ReplyDeleteDid Jesus only minister in the temple, or did he not minister to sinners and tax collectors? We have this preconceived notion that "Church" is a building to which we attribute our faith. But this is the cancer that is eroding Christianity in America. We create this idealistic image of what church is supposed to look like, and before too long the only person that is allowed to minister to people is the man standing up front...and to do so they must be educated at "such-and-such" school, and they must wear "this-and-that" attire. But Christ said, "the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these..."(john 14). By limiting Church to a building or a "sacred place" you are putting limits on the circumstances through which God can use us to minister to people.
ReplyDeleteWhat you are doing is creating a "holy man" scenario where all eyes are on the front of a pristine chapel, and the closest we ever get to evangelizing our friends and loved-ones is to invite them to a Sunday morning service and hope that God uses the guy at the front of the room to lead them to salvation.
We need to pursue relationships with people that extend beyond the boundaries of the stained-glass windows, and get out in the streets where people need to hear the good news. I'm going. Will you join me??