Stop being so natural
Im:practical – Introduction
It has struck me for some time both as a personal conviction about my own life and as a wider observation of the Church in general that we have increasingly become so practical, so contemporary, so excellent, so planned, so organized, so educated, so equipped, so missional that if God showed up in our meetings we might call him a disruption to our ‘order’. To the way we do things, no matter what that way looks like.
If God showed up in our contemporary church we would freak because it might kill our sound and set, it might blow out our time. If he showed up in the midst of that thorough exegesis on Leviticus that the academically trained teacher has prepared we would ask God to step aside as this is not the time nor the place for that emotional clap trap. If he showed up in miraculous power while we were attempting to be missional, loving the poor, getting out there serving the least in a relative ‘no strings attached’ moment we would accuse him of trying some attractional form of outreach which is so ‘nineties’.
In the attempt to be ‘relevant’, ‘missional’, ‘community focussed’, whatever the tag. Have we forgot that whilst we need to be relevant, to connect we are also a peculiar people, a spiritual people, we are a different people. If we are just the same with a cool band and cool relevant edgy speaker than why not just go to the pub band down the road and watch a video of Anthony Robbins.
I am not claiming that we have it at LifeCity Church in Canberra, to the contradiction it is a concern because this is a huge area of weakness. When Jesus came he was proclaimed as emmanuel, God with us. When he left physically, he left the Holy Spirit, the comforter. Why is it that whilst we know the Holy Spirit is with us, are we practically not with him?
In the next couple weeks I want to cover different practical people, of which I have been guilty of more than one. It is time to be a little impractical and more spiritual.
Coming soon – Practical Atheist – Practical Deist – Practical Gnostic – Practical Spiritual Socialist – Practical Spiritual Capitalist.
4 Life,
Josh
Co-labourer in one corner of the church in Canberra
LifeCity Church Canberra
http://www.lifecitychurch.com
