Relationally Rich and Information Appropriate...

Barna has pointed out a trend in people pursuing a relationship with God outside of the traditional church. In a discussion with one traditional church pastor, I pointed out that method does not matter, within guidelines of scripture, what matters is just pointing them towards Christ. We need to each pursue the way that God has called us to reach the outchurched. This is a short version of our discussion of the definition of "Church"

Does size matter? What does this look like in light of I Cor. 14 and Acts 2?

So would a simple definition for church be “people who pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ, together”. Is it 2,4,8,10,20,40,80,etc?

The question you will probably ask then is for a definition of relationship. ”What does relationship mean?” So I will then explain what relationship means to me. A relationship is an interactive, non-static, dynamic exchange of life and purpose. This is both with God and others. I believe that in the context of a relationship (Active, non static, dynamic) with Jesus the gathering of believers have something to share in common. It is when people come to the gathering/meeting without the relationship with God/Jesus Christ that the “gathering/meeting” becomes stale and lifeless. If people have a place to exchange “relationship”, they begin to see it as having value. (I Thess 2:6-9)

I believe what Barna is saying is that people are looking for this interactive, non-static, dynamic exchange of life and purpose with each other and with Jesus Christ. I think he is pointing to a cultural change that is taking place. People are “relationally empty and information rich.” Information about God is no longer the basis for going to church/gatherings/meetings. Relationship with God and each other is what matters. The current culture is just saying that "for them there is a more effective way” to do this.

The challenge for the church is then to bridge the relational gap not with more information about God but a relationship with Jesus and with each other. Many are socially and emotionally unable to do this in the current context of “church”. They do not understand how to bridge that gap by themselves (go to a different church and try to get connected to people, it does not work) in the context of yesterday’s traditional non-participatory format.

Some are still able, some are not, and many are heading towards the “not”. They are looking for something that is “Relationally rich and information appropriate” They are seekers of “connection” not “information”. That is the challenge as I see it. I am not saying that our churches are unnecessary but rather that other forms should be welcome. It is easy for both sides of Jordan to get “excited” about their method, but method is just that... A method of connecting people to a living God, Jesus Christ! We need to cheer each other on! I have made the mistake many times in this journey of trying to compare and contrast... a trap of the evil one!

Just some thoughts... I think we are all being challenged to remember that we are all in this together! Let's keep our eyes off of each other, on Jesus Christ, and on those who he has called us to equip and reach.