The Purpose of the Church

Yesterday I received a new book, I started and finished it in one sitting. It is just off the press, by Mike Slaughter - pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist church in Dayton Ohio for the last 30 years. The book is called "Change the world: Recovering the message and mission of Jesus."

Great book about the challenges facing the church in our current climate. Here is what the back of the book says, "Something is not working. Despite the church's place of prominence in American culture and the ubiquity of the church in every American town, misconceptions about the faith of Jesus Christ run rampant today. Christians are known more for exclusivity than for love, more for potlucks than for solving world hunger. It's time for churches to get over the cruise-ship mentality of being a program provider and reconnect with the true message and mission of Jesus: to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed. The church is called to be a mission outpost, living out Christ's ideals in today's world."

I have been saying this a while now. And yet, as I look back on the last several years at Community of Joy, I realize we have made small steps in that direction, but not enough. So, in 2010, I want to make a more concentrated effort to reconnect with the mission and message of Jesus. To engage with our community in a way that brings together God's resources and human need.

For me, it is not about building the church, but it is about becoming the church in the community and world.