"We really don't want something with the word "church" in it but rather more of a description of what the Christian life is all about."
Probably not what your fishing for, but this traditionalist Christian believes that "what the Christian life is all about" is....Jesus Christ. Call it "His Place" or "The Rock" or maybe even "The Way Home." Just hope you realize that unique names and catchy slogans may well get folks to walk in the door, and a nice band with contemporary praise music projected via Powerpoint may even get them to stay and drop money into the collection plate. But, think on this...Our Lord is watching. Unless the whole point of your "emerging church" is to lead people to redemption from sin and to salvation through Jesus Christ, you don't have to worry about being mistaken as a "church" no matter what you call yourselves.
In the advertising world, I believe it's referred to as "all sizzle and no steak." I don't mean to presume that that's what you folks are about. I've just witnessed entirely too much of this new age, universalist, "Church of What's Happenin' Now" nonsense passing for Christianity and tend to be suspicious of an organization that shys away from identifying itself as a church.
No disrespect intended, but being "traditional" (i.e., sold out to structures and heirarchial positions such as "pastor" or "bishop," etc.) is why the Church has been made irrelevant for the past 1,700 years. The Church stopped being an organism and became an institution the moment Constatine became a "christian."
Prior to that point in history, our tradition was one of "going and making disciples," although it changed to "us four and no more," as they hid inside walls that were put up between them and the world.
Call it "His Place" or "The Rock" or maybe even "The Way Home." Just hope you realize that unique names and catchy slogans may well get folks to walk in the door, and a nice band with contemporary praise music projected via Powerpoint may even get them to stay and drop money into the collection plate.
Thank you for the ideas, which are quite good. And I do share your frustration with the more modernistic view of "church," which appeared to focus more on aesthetics and the preaching of an "anointed speaker" where the congregants were herded in and told to sit down and keep their collective mouths shut (except to respond with "amens" when prompted by the speaker) like the dumb sheep they are (sarcasm mode on high) and be "fed" instead of being allowed to express their God-given gifts and ministries and thoughts and dreams and songs.
That's not a "church," that's a crutch.
By the way, I believe that the tithe is not a New Testament principle, as many believe today, but rather has become a funding source of the pastor's "vision," (codeword for "personal indulges").
But, think on this...Our Lord is watching.
Oh, I am all too aware that He is and that is why our heart is set the record straight as to what Church is really supposed to be: a community of believers sharing a common faith who, in the eyes of a dying world, openly express that faith through the love they have for one another, taking care of each other and deferring to the other; an environment where everyone is on level ground and where authority is based upon the adherence to truth and not position.
The reason that I'm too afraid to continue the misrepresentation of Him and His word is why I am compelled to do something "new" (although it's 2,000 years old) and receive the condemnation of many.
If Jesus would walk into your church today, would He be pleased at what He saw and heard? Or would He chase you all out of His presence with a whip?
Unless the whole point of your "emerging church" is to lead people to redemption from sin and to salvation through Jesus Christ, you don't have to worry about being mistaken as a "church" no matter what you call yourselves.
The ENTIRE point is to create an environment where God's people can become who they are called and gifted to become without the hindrances that we see in the manmade organizations we call "church," and where the world can actually see real love among God's people expressed through authentic relationships.
The bible says that Jesus was the exact representation of the Father's grace and truth (John 1:14, et al), a living testimony of the Father. What better "sermon" can one receive than to see it honestly and truthfully "fleshed out" among believers travelling on this road call "faith?"
In the advertising world, I believe it's referred to as "all sizzle and no steak." I don't mean to presume that that's what you folks are about. I've just witnessed entirely too much of this new age, universalist, "Church of What's Happenin' Now" nonsense passing for Christianity and tend to be suspicious of an organization that shys away from identifying itself as a church.
It is impossible for an organization to be truthfully realized as a church because an organization depends upon the structures of control, where people, the most precious things to God, are viewed as the means to an end. The biblical definition of church is when "two or three gather together" in the name of Jesus, where it is not a place one goes to but rather an opportunity for church to just "happen" the way it's supposed to.
Thanks again for your ideas and concerns. Please pray for us as we continue to seek His will and His way.