Had a great discussion this morning with friends relating to the church and what the “emerging church” looks like. By no means was the discussion conclusive save the fact that Christ and His word must be central. Over the years there has been several attempts to break the church of tradition, in some cases only for the sake of rebellion or the sense that “tradition isn’t relative to todays culture”. Another well meaning departure from tradition has been to attract the unchurched by dressing down, using music that sounds more like our culture, and to divest ourselves from churchy language or theological terms. Bear in mind…I share observation, and this is not to condemn any particular church style.

Part of our discussion observed that often we humans tend to move to an extreme, we realize we have done so, then swing to the opposite pole often over compensating for that which we have become. What we can agree on is that we all desire balance. Not balance in the sense of being neutral and ineffective, but balance in that we are not extreme in the things that are not eternal or vital to our lives. A pastor friend this morning summed this though nicely, ” I dress down such that those who are inclined to be more casual feel comfortable, while I dress up enough to teach respect for worship and being before the Lord.”

A couple final thoughts :

To the Christian: We are to love all without malice accepting all remembering that there is nothing we can do to gain the kingdom of God. Christ alone is the source of our redemption. With the gospel (good news) as our centrality and daily searching the words of Christ we are transformed from the ways we once lived.

To the unbeliever: Christians are people. Our salvation does not make us any less prone to sin (though we should be working on that!). Personally, I would like to ask forgiveness for ever approaching a non-believer with any sense of “I am better than you”. Of course it would never be intentional, but those of who have been steeped in “church culture” were often taught that we had to be so different in the way we live etc, that we lost our relevance in the very thing we seek…to glorify God and love others the way Christ loves us.

Wow…where did that all come from?! It is good to discuss, wrestle with these things to sharpen us. Some of my thoughts today are based on some teaching in the book of Titus from the New Testament in the Bible. More specifically Titus 3:1 and following verses.

Be well, and be challenged to grow.