Scott Freeman

Today is my first day in the office marking the true beginning of my work as minister for the Agape Church of Christ.

As I sit here surrounded by boxes on my wife’s laptop I can’t help but feel a little bit overwhelmed. That, to me, is a great feeling.

Meeting with the shepherds has been a blessing. They want to proceed just like we would with a church plant and utilize some of the training we received this summer toward that end.

The question is: where do we start? What are the initial things that have to be done? How do we best impact this community? How do we be relevant and in tune with the culture without sacrificing theological depth?

In a nod to Mr. Barth I have just subscribed to the local paper.

I have a ton of ideas when it comes to setting a vision for this place. But let me ask you, my faithful readers, if you were beginning a new and fresh ministry what would you do? Joe and other church planters, let me hear you.

What should a young church focus on in the early days? I’d be anxious to hear you ideas and see how they mesh with what I am thinking. And, hopefully, those members of Agape that are reading this will feel led to respond as well.

I plan on using this space on Monday’s to talk specifically about the work of the church using this as my template to discuss what we are called to be.

Look for the return of top 10 Tuesdays tomorrow with the 10 greatest Springsteen songs of all time.

In the meantime, give me your feedback.

I was able to catch this segment on 60 minutes last night featuring Joel Osteen. Wow. Just Wow.

I’m excessively hard on preachers. I nit-pick and can be extremely unkind in my analysis of others. Volunteer preachers, not so much. But paid guys I can be merciless.

I repent of that.

But I still hold to the notion that to preach well you must be theologically responsible.

I grew up in the conservative Churches of Christ. It is still where I hang my hat ministerially. However, as I have grown in my “knowledge and understanding” of Scripture and the nature and character of God I have developed my own doctrine, if you will, that sometimes runs counter to what is traditionally viewed as orthodoxy.

I know I’m not alone and that what is going on with the Churches of Christ is a microcosm of what takes place across the broader evangelical world.

But, I wrestle regularly with what to say as I struggle with what this faith means.

What is too critical and nit-picky?
What truly needs to be said?
How do we sound the call away from orthodoxy and toward orthopraxy without losing the audience?
How do we broach controversial topics that need to be addressed and re-studied without alienating others and thwarting essential dialogue?

I have 3 Sundays with no place to go. I hope to use that as an opportunity to check out some of the other faith traditions in the area.

I really hope to visit our cousins at a Disciples congregation.

There is an Anabaptist church that looks cool but it’s about 30 miles away.

There is a church near us that is offering 30 minute worship services but, really, what’s the point?

Where would you go? Any suggestions?

I was just reminded that Rich Mullins died 10 years ago yesterday. With all the schlock that makes up Christian music today Rich’s voice still resonates with meaning and power.

“Hold Me Jesus”

“Here In America”

“Sometimes By Step”

“My Brothers Keeper”

We still miss you Rich.

This list was suggested to me as a potential Top 10 Tuesday. And I have to admit it has had me stumped ever since.

It’s not that I’m so cynical and jaded that I don’t think I can feel the list it’s just that there is an important hurdle that we have to clear in order to answer the question: What is the church?

Now the answer to that initial question is a lot broader for me that some. I don’t believe that the church refers only to those who worship at a Church of Christ.

So, with a more ecumenical understanding of the word “church” how do you answer that question? What have “we” gotten right? Is it even answerable in the ecumenical sense?

…I was given the power to cast out demons.

Now, that’s going on my resume.

And it should be a pretty neat party trick as well.

Update: I have fleshed out this post with more of my thoughts. I did not want to convey that I am 100% on board with this. However, I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. The attractional/missional approach does not need to be an either/or in my opinion. Elements of intentionality in corporate assemblies can be a good thing (although I feel they are likely to be better pulled off in smaller group settings).

About a week and a half ago I stumbled across this blog post by David Foster.

In the post he recounts the 16 things he would look for if he were seeking a church to attend. It’s gotten a lot of feedback, both positive and negative. The negative feedback was primarily that it seemed to be more superficial and less doctrinal and substantive. Unfortunately, I think these are the things people too often look at first. I don’t agree with everything, but it’s worth looking at. And maybe slicing it up a bit.

Here are his thoughts (my comments in bold):

If I were looking for a church to attend in the morning, here is what I’d look for:

1. When I enter do I hear laughter? There is a danger always of a laughter that excludes, as if what we do is exclusivistic. But then again, laughter is a good thing. But the first sign of what to look for seems somewhat out of place.

2. Are people greeting me as a job or a joy? If they are standing outside in the pouring rain directing you to visitor parking then my guess would be a combination of both.

3. Does the place look like they were expecting me? I get this. We should operate in expectation of new faces.

4. Are people buzzing as they greet each other? What does this mean? Does it mean like liquored up? I’m afraid this falls under undefinable.

5. Is there spirited music playing as people gather? Again, I’m not sure that a prelude is necessary to profound and meaningful worship. It doesn’t hurt, but not a prerequisite for my edification.

6. Does the music move me? I have to admit that, personally, this would be high on my list. I want a place with lively tunes.

7. Do the people on stage look real and engaged? No Madame Tussaud’s figures on the stage.

8. Are the announcements short, strategic, and to the point? I get this as well because I personally hate prolonged announcement times. But, conversely, does long announcements indicate a connect body of believers?

9. Is there a printed outline with Scripture already printed on it? Is this necessary?

10. Does the pastor smile? Come on, that’s just nit-picking.

11. Does the message title promise a relevant topic I am interested in? I’m less interested in whether or not it applies specifically to me than whether or not it is well reasoned, articulate and true.

12. Does the pastor speak with humility and authority? Hard to gauge, but important I would gather. We can all fake humility.

13. Do I feel the presence of God? This comes across to me based upon the previous points to be “do I like it, because if I do God must be here.”

14. Are people listening and engaged? Ain’t no church in existence where all the people are listening and engaged.

15. Is the service no more than 71 minutes? Do I hear 68 minutes?

16. Does it pass by fast? Maybe if we could get it down to 63 minutes it would go faster

What do you think of these? I’m busted on #10 if he’s talking about before services start.

Honestly, I think we can come up with better things than this.

I’m no prophet and make no claims to be. I’m not even a skilled prognosticator. If I was I’d be playing the horses.

However, there is no doubt that there is a coming tidal wave of issues that intellectually honest and sincere Christians will face in the future if not already. And surely many of us are confronting these topics in the here and now.

And these issues will make many of our previous issues look as ridiculous as so many of them are. So this list is not that of issues that will appear out of the blue but will gain steam and momentum in the years to come. In other words, these issues are already among us.

Before I begin the list let me emphasize two points:

First, I am not taking a position on any of these issues. I am merely stating that what might be settled in our minds may not be settled in the minds of people coming after us. In the future I will talk about each of these but not today.

Burying our head in the sand and pretending they aren’t really issues at all will serve no benefit for the kingdom. Nor will drawing our line in the sand and proclaiming that there is no need to deal with these issues because everything is already settled. We must be engaged, honest, questioning and concerned enough with the thoughts of others that we are willing to wrestle with tough issues.

Secondly, these are in no particular order. I make no claims as to which will consume the most of our energy.

Again let me re-state. I’m not taking a position on any of these issues nor am I stating that they should be issues. I am merely stating that we, as Christians, must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have. And that means meeting people where they are. In the coming months and years, this is where we will meet them.

10. Evolution and other issues of science. As the evidence seems to mount lending credence to the theory of evolution we must prepare for a greater conversation on such issues. Repackaging Creationism under the designation “Intelligent Design” fools no one and brings the conversation to a grinding halt.

9. The nature of Truth. Must the Bible be viewed solely as Propositional Truth? Is the rejection of PT mean strictly an embrace of Relativism or is there nuance?

8. Fellowship with Mormons and other “fringe” Christian groups. As the LDS gains mainstream respectability and a public backing away from much of their questionable doctrine our working relationship with these groups will come into greater need for discussion.

7. Biblical Inerrancy. The question of whether or not the trustworthiness of Scripture hinges upon its inerrancy will become more central in the coming years.

6. Bio-ethical Questions–Cloning, stem cell, etc. must be wrestled with from a Judeo-Christian perspective.

5. Homosexuality–Studying the issues anew, grappling with how to receive someone who is LGBT, and what Christ commands of us is imperative, regardless of how uncomfortable the topic is for many.

4. Gender Issues–What does the Bible truly say about the role of women? Are they second-class citizens when it comes to areas of service and leadership or is there a more progressive hermeneutic that demands something more egalitarian?

3. The Nature of Salvation–Questions of hell, heaven, and a new earth will become increasingly important as we wrestle anew with some problematic passages of Scripture.

2. What Is Church?–As we see the growth of non-traditional services and meeting places, and as many places of worship become decentralized the question of what it is we are called to do and be will increase.

1. The Atonement–Which is it: penal substitution, Christus Victor, ransom, or some mixture of the above? Or none of the above?

Note: I know that I didn’t include Open Theism which probably should be on this list.

What are your thoughts with these 10? What do you think should be added?