“The role of the church is to see a need, meet a need,” AD3 says, sitting next to his wife, Jessica, aka Lady J, in their Lee’s Summit home. “Those changes were about doing an introspection on what the need was and being willing to do everything it takes to meet that need. If that meant tearing down walls of tradition, so be it.”
Much more at link from various churches with strong outreach and response from millenials.
The churches that are growing are culturally relevant and Biblically relevant.
And of course there are those churches that are growing just because the number of illegal immigrants flooding in, but that’s another story.
Thank goodness this guy's not in a leadership position at my church. The role of the church is to confront a lost world, preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and help save souls.
Super-fun rap-star church.
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Very good article, thanks for posting. I’ve seen both sides. I think the key is balance; but faithful preaching and teaching must be the cornerstone.
AD3 and Lady J? Really?
Give me a break.
Just let it happen gradually.
If the preacher is preaching the Word, I don't care if he's wearing a suit or a pair of jeans.
Preach the Word!!
Yaroslav Urzhumov......................
Disregard last post. Wrong thread.....................
I foresee more Millenials joining the Church of Scientology than any other. They’re so used to being followers of social media that sooner or later they’ll start looking for something more ‘meaningful’, but they won’t have to give up their oh-so deep sense of community.
Our church has gone to 4 services of 1500 each due to his preaching through the Bible verse by verse. He does not hide from the truth and is not PC in the least.
“So often people approach topics putting the focus on sin,” Kyle says. “For people to change their life, they need to see that God is good, not that God is a tyrant. We have to authentically care about people. I’m not worried about your sexuality right now. I’m not worried about what you did Saturday night. I’m worried about what do you know about Jesus and how can I tell you more about him. Not let me tell you why God is upset at you.”
” After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!” - Mark 1
Jesus didn’t come preaching, “I’m cool with you. Let me tell you more about My Dad...He’s cool with you too!”
“Repent and believe in the good news!”
the article sounded pretty good until we got to the part where the pastor doesn’t care about how his parishioners sin
we stopped reading there.
it is not a church.
it is a rock rave, and apparently a very happy popular one, yes, congratulations for that!! but it is not a church
The same site also has the emotional story of a 12 year old girl telling her congregation that she was gay.
If any of my children came to me at 12 and told me anything about being gay or heterosexual, I would KNOW there was an adult misleading them or seducing them.
If I was the parent I would start looking at her companions very closely to find the one who led her in this direction.
Ping.
For me it was kinda sad to read the article. Its great that younger people are attending these churches BUT at what cost??? Is the gospel being watered down? Are they being taught to live for Christ? Are they being discipled?
In one part of the article one of the pastors said “The role of the church is to see a need and meet a need” No its not!! The role FIRST AND FOREMOST is to Glorify and Worship God and to lift Him up!!! Then the “needs” will be met when one first gets the vertical relationship correct and then the “horizontal” relationships will be then met!!! In the article it seems that all that is being considered is that MAN is “glorified and worshiped” and trying to be relevant to man FIRST and not being relevant to God FIRST. Here in this scenario mans view of God is SMALL and the view of man is BIG.
The second point is that they speak of attention spans being “short” so they “rush thru the service and try to keep it to an hour. That is SHALLOW “christianity”!!!! Again man is put FIRST and not God!!! How can learning be accomplished leading to effective discipleship? How can a difference be made in the lives of the people if they meet only an hour a week and know the service is being “rushed thru” to accommodate man?? We wonder why the church has no influence as it once did. Its because we are raising shallow believers who couldnt articulate the core doctrines of the faith or even know what the gospel is!!!
Below are links to some interviews from a bible study called Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically. Its a great study i highly recommend.
https://vimeo.com/130918095 Interview with Conrad Mbewe on pragmatism in the church. One key point, of many, is that UNLESS one FIRST wants to glorify God BEFORE MAN the church isn’t following what God wants them to do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Bn3mt4fDk Paul Washer on pragmatism and the need to cut ourselves off from the arm of flesh, which is pragmatism. We do not see much of God because we don’t preach the gospel.
https://vimeo.com/127725807 Paul Washer warning church leaders on the evils of pragmatism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycgKmYmTkSE John Snyder on pragmatism and planting churches in modern society. (there is a plug for the Behold your God Study but it returns back to the meat of the argument on pragmatism)
As I read the article and especially the comments above, I was reminded of the sorts of people that our Lord used to hang out with. It wasn’t the Pharisees. It was tax collectors, fallen women, fishermen, etc. Obviously he saw value in a welcoming approach.
I was raised Missouri Synod Lutheran. Just preach the Word, remind me that I’m a SINNER, kick my @ss and keep me ont he Straight and Narrow for the coming week.
THAT feels like ‘home’ to me. ;)
Churches should be focused on teaching the word of God first.
As for attire and other ways to connect with todays culture, all I can say is the bible tells us to live in this world but not become like the world. I take that to mean, interact with people in ways to reach them but be sure you don’t start sliding away from biblical.
Also Churches should accept anyone one coming as they are, but God doesn’t intend for any person, sinner or preacher or any where in-between to stay as they are. God intends for all of us to grow out of our old self and into whatever He calls us to.