December Reposts: Part 2

This month, I am going to repost some past blogs.  My hope is that you enjoy re-reading them.  For the rest of you reading these for the first time will gain a little more nderstanding of where I came from.  Maybe learn from a mistake or two of mine.

I spent yesterday afternoon with my wife and some leaders and members of a church at a northwest suburban eatery.  OK, so it looked more like a bar than your typical restaurant.  Alright, it was a bar.  Big screen TVs, and Hollywood memorabilia adorned the walls of the establishment.  But the most interesting part of the afternoon was the conversations that we had.  We talked about ideas for ministry.  We discussed what it would look like to have a worship band play in that bar.  We talked about what it would take to have a men's small group at the bar.  We even talked about having a church service or two there.

Huh?  I was/am confused.  You mean that ministry doesn't happen within the four walls of our church buildings?  

For most churches that have ideas like this, they are only doing "lip service."  So many churches "want" to be apart of the community, but when the time comes, they balk at the idea.  It's "too much work" or "now's not a good time" are their reasons, but the reality is that it's uncomfortable.  It is uncomfortable.  It's supposed to be.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues."  Matthew 10:16-17

When Jesus sent out his disciples, he said that bad things would happen to them.  Why should we expect any less?  It would be hard.  We might see rejection, but doesn't God want us to be lights in our community?

Why do so many churches spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their buildings trying to make them "cool" and "acceptable" to outside observers, when local bars, restaurants, and theaters have already done that?  Think about it: what do our modern churches look like? Coffee houses. Bars. Theaters.  What make those community buildings any different from our church buildings?

Seriously, what WOULD it look like to have church in a bar?  I'm not necessarily saying that you should serve beer during the offering or worship set, but what about just using the facility?  They have the stage, the lighting, the decor, the sound system...they have everything!

Why don't we do it? Fear.  Uncertainty.  Doubt.  These factors always creep in when God calls us to do something radical.

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10: 32-33

God promises to be with us when we step out in faith.  When we go out and spread His name in our community, we are doing what He wants, but it takes faith.  We need to take those radical steps to reach others for Christ.  

So, what would church in a local bar look like?  I hope someday soon to have an answer for you.