Saturday, August 30, 2008

Why go to church?

The statements below come from a church in the Chicago area:

Some people go to church to get something: feel-good music, fascinating sermons, fun stuff for kids. They evaluate church based on what they get out of it. However, this turns church into a product to be distributed, used, and discarded. Christians become consumers. God is shrunk into a personal-need provider, and the glue holding together his people is mere taste and self-interest.

Really, church is about participating in what God is doing, being his Body, allowing him to heal us, transform us, and use us to his glory.

At Life on the Vine we are a family committed to each other and to Jesus, the Head of our household. When we assemble for worship, his message is preached, his Spirit is present, and his people are restored, healed, and gradually conformed into his likeness. We invite you to participate, test the spirits, and allow the Holy Spirit to form your life.

Life On The Vine has three commitments

Transformational
When we gather for worship, or in confession during the week, may our encounter with God in Christ truly shape who we are. Seeking more than emotional arousal or intellectual critique, let us join those who have gone before us and submit our minds, bodies, and souls to the living Lord.

Communal
Whether at a local house gathering, a church potluck, or the Lord's Table, may God grant us hearts of hospitality, embracing one another in the unity of the Spirit. Let us be an authentic community that journeys together, bearing one another's burdens and speaking truth in love.

Missional
Every day may we be Christ's presence to the hurting, lost, and victimized people of this world. Let us welcome the stranger and offer words of life. Joining hands with churches around the globe, we participate in what God is doing to redeem the world to himself.

Here's a link to Life On The Vine's website:http://www.lifeonthevine.org/index.html

What do you think of their understanding of church and what it means to be missional? Comments are always welcomed!

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