plant and run

Church of Irresistible Influence | May 19, 2009

There is a “for sale” sign sunk into the dirt in front of our Algiers home. [Anyone wanna buy it?] We are moving to Little Rock…at least temporarily.

Starting in August, I will be in a ten month church planting residency program at Fellowship Associates (FA). FA is a non-profit organization started by Fellowship Bible Church Little Rock (FBCLR) as part of their efforts towards fostering churches that are building bridges into their communities in order to be salt and light.

So, I figured I should dust off my old copy of “The Church of Irresistable Influence” and re-read it.

Okay, so now I’m really stoked about this whole residency program. As if I needed a any more stoking.

Like many church philosophy books, it is not merely a cold and dry argument for a way to do church, it is a story. It was really fun to hear the story of this church…especially in light of the fact that I’ll will be part of it soon enough. It was also very interesting to read it in light of all that we have witnessed in New Orleans over the past four years [I read the book for the first time back around 2003).

It is a good book. Well written...well argued...very practical.

More than anything else, though, I came away feeling that I could definitely sympathize with the emotions of Robert Lewis [& all at FBCLR] as they describe their struggle to marry a heavy dose community involvement with the traditional Bible church emphasis on biblical instruction.

Bible Churches, frankly, are a lot like Chinese Buffets. No, even better, Bible Churches are like one of those steak buffet places where you get all the meat you want.

Ever gone to one of those places and looked around? It can be depressing to watch already overweight Americans eat plate after plate after plate.

I used to like Chinese Buffets.

It’s like FBCLR decided to put a fitness center smack dab between the general’s chicken and the egg rolls. KAPOW!!

[Sorry, I think I got a little carried away with that metaphor.]

Seriously, though, if the Katrina experience has taught me anything, it is that we need to collectively get off our butts and get out there and help people. Christianity was never meant to exist only in a classroom. I’m all for teaching doctrine but there is a point when you are gorging yourself if it’s all talk and no action.

How much of our church resources (time, manpower, budget) are focused on building up the body as opposed to reaching out to those who are lost?

How much time do Pastor’s spend in their study as opposed to spending it out in the streets?

How many Christian gauge the health of their spiritual life only by the way they relate to God as opposed to also the way they relate to other people?

We offer up the same challenge to every work team that comes down here to do Katrina Recovery work: Let this trip redefine the entire way you view what it means to follow Jesus. The mission work that is done by work teams in NOLA should be part of the fabric of every Christian’s life.

FBCLR has done it. They created a church that has redefined what it means to be a Christian. Community involvement is at the core of all that they do. That is why I want to learn from them.

That is the kinda church that New Orleans needs.