Ecumenical Sectarianism

Some times I am revolted by the Church. I am revolted when I drive down the major street nearest to my house and within two miles there are six churches. If you give yourself a two block radius from that street in the same two miles you can add four more churches.

None of these congregations are unusually large, none of the facilities are particularly stunning. I’ll be honest in telling you that I have ever only been inside one of these buildings. I know people who attend four of the ten. All of these churches have been in existence for 30 years or more. Most were built when the suburb that I live in was developing in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Two of them have “changed congregations” in the past few years – that is that one congregation sold a facility to another. Mostly this happens in suburban churches as members gradually migrate away from a large city toward the outer rim of suburbs in search of cheaper housing and less congestion or whatever. Often times they chose to move their church along with them.

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The Challenges of the Minority

Recently, I watched as my son went through a simple test of his faith. It has to do with a job that he has and his simple display of faith in wearing a cross around his neck when acting as an agent for his employer. The cross is not tremendously noticeable being made of steel nails hung from a simple leather strap or thong. It is humble and unassuming.

The challenge came from a customer who felt uncomfortable because the promotional material that my son participates in creating features him, wearing his cross. Because my son works for the state university where he attends, this customer felt like somehow having an agent of the university promoting school events and activities while wearing a personal religious symbol was somehow a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. Continue reading “The Challenges of the Minority”

Why We Struggle With Worship

To understand the struggle that evangelicals have with worship you must first define it. Frankly, I think, like many things that we evangelicals struggle with, we have placed our focus on method, rather than purpose. When we argue over music and liturgy and all kinds of stuff “that happens” but what is underneath that, I think, is that we have lost the plot on the purpose of worship.

Worship

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