Not in the building!

I've come across an interview with Sally Morgenthaler and Alex Roxburgh. I posted earlier about her change of attitude and move away from the concept of worship evangelism. (earlier post)

In the interview she says: "woe is me... if we're not crafting worship for those kind of people [like the characters in American Beauty], for humans ... it is not the cataclysmic thing that happens when we truly meet God."

The interview (here) is posted on the Allelon website which claims to be a movement of missional leaders. This week my friend was sharing his intense discomfort with the current catch word missional. I confess I can be just as allergic to the word when it becomes programed and lacking commitment to God. Commitment to program or even church is not what it is about! Sally Morgenthaler has realized it is commitment to people, to neighborhood, to being human, to being planted. The trouble is church is all about place and experience and consumption, however community is about being not in the building but outside it.

My frustration is much the same as Morgenthaler that too many people are living in a Christian subculture literally based in a building and they have no relevance to the world outside. At the ministerial this week I presented the challenge of being salt and light in the world. On salt there are some important ideas from Mike Bechtle's book Evangelism for the rest of us 1/ Salt comes in little pieces 2/ Salt preserves 3/ Salt causes thirst 4/ Salt brings out flavor 5/ Salt in excess is unhealthy - stops growth in plants. I invited them to reflect over these.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. Matt 5:13-15