Reflections From Sunday Evening

I continue to think about the mission/ministry model the Church needs to embrace. There is the "attraction" model. That is where we open the church doors and say "here we are", and expect people to show up. For this to be effective the church would need to have a better "show" than Disneyland! Even if we were hyper-professional in our production we would not necessarily see lives changed. That is not to say we should not always seek to get better in a pursuit of excellence in worship, serving, learning and all things church. But even if everything goes right the attraction model will fail us. I am not sure what the other extreme might be. Perhaps the House Church. But that would merely seek to attract people somewhere, just not the church. Maybe there is some model for pure service. Christian faith is found out there somewhere where we do good for others. I could go on about these different models. What I keep coming back to is a church that is sent. We, the people of God, are sent into the world to witness for Christ. We are a "go" people. Go into all the world and make disciples. We go and continually plant seeds of the Gospel. We offer Christ to the world in a multitude of ways. Presence is important. Service is vital. Speaking for those without a voice is part of offering Christ. Eventually someone looks at us and poses a question. Why do you do what you do? What makes you who you are? At that point the Church has the opportunity to invite. Jesus put it like this. Come and see. The invitational church says come and see what God can do in your life. The invitation is met by the Holy Spirit who continually creates a heart longing for Jesus. Person after person responds. This is where the "place" we call church comes into play. We have a worship center. We have places for discipleship. We become a "lab" where wonder and inquiry rise. So my "Invitational Church" both goes and says come and see. Something to think about. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve