This is something I am experiencing in my life at this very moment and others in my extended family as well. I have come to the conclusion that the church I attend today is a better picture of what God has set before His Church to do. So why, do people in the church you left, begin to persecute you and the new church you attend? Are we not as Christians suppose to work together for the cause of Christ?
These are issues we have heard and have been directly commented to about. This is what they “think” our church (Crosspoint) is about. Why do they not have their own “building”, this is a “cult”, a “drive in…drive right up to the movie theater”, this church is not “playing by the “rules” of Christianity.”
Oh, I never knew you had to have a steeple on top of your building…please someone find that scripture for me so that I can make sure I am within the “rules” of Christianity. And the cult thing…ha…maybe we are a cult…a cult for Christ, (don’t have to explain myself there). Or maybe I should, I would call us bondservants of Christ. Do you know what a bondservant is…let’s see: a slave; one who is bound to service without wages.
Exodus 21:1-6 1 “These are the laws you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. [a] He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
As I see it, there are two “Christian” visions that compete: 1) the traditional church with its structures, programs, and leadership; and 2) the Biblical commands of Christ to go to the lost, make disciples, baptize those who believe, and teach them to observe Christ’s commandments. To me these are two worlds colliding, I’m not saying that structures, programs, are wrong, but this is what many churches base everything on without Christ being the center of the church. Maybe to some they are one and the same, but what I am learning is that they are different cultures. We SAY that our churches are about reaching the lost, but when it comes right down to it, they are following a “churchianity“ (reminds me of have my pastor might put it/not that he did) vision where the real goal is to get people to GO TO CHURCH especially those that are like the ones that are already in the church…not truly the lost…the messy people…the drug addicts…the alcoholics…the….you get it. I know, most churches would frown on such people walking in the church in this condition, this was said to someone in my family just yesterday. Would you let them sit next to you in the pew? So is your church actually here for #2, to go to the lost, make disciples and baptize those who believe. Christ’s commands and vision is that His Church GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES of the nations.
So with all that in mind, yes, the church I attend meets in a movie theater (Crosspoint Community Church) which I have mentioned many times in my blog, we worship to a cool band that sometimes play secular music and video bumpers to make a realistic life situation point. The church does what it can to reach the lost in a very different way than your traditional church. Our pastor preaches or should I say God speaks through our pastor in a way that those who do not know Christ as their Savior can relate to what is being said. My children, since attending Crosspoint have been able to tell me that they actually knew what our Pastor was talking about. Do you think a person that has no idea who Jesus is can understand the King James Version of the bible? Well, this would be the same as that same person walking into a church where the pastor uses all those Thou’s and Therefore’s …will they get it…probably not! So don’t go slamming the church I attend or anyone else attends…until you know for a fact that you are so biblically correct you can confess that to GOD!
The way I grasp the vision for our church is NOT trying to reform believers who have spent years in traditional church settings. I see Crosspoint as being the church that is bringing non believers off the street and into the homes via live streaming internet to hear the words of Jesus Christ and the words of HOPE to those that have messy lives. I see the real key as starting with the NEW BELIEVERS who are being won through Crosspoints Ministry and then discipled. They don’t have to clean up their lives before they start attending church. They are the future, not those sitting in church pews.
The church can “talk the talk” all it wants, but few of them actually (I didn’t say all) “walk the walk” and DO what Christ said. There is so much a conflict of visions in our Churches today! Get your thoughts about other Churches out of the center of the Church and FOCUS on the vision that GOD has set before us!
This is what Crosspoint does and it with JESUS “is” going to make an impact in our community the surrounding areas and the WORLD…so get off your high fluting church skirts and become a part of spreading the Good News of Christ to the hurting people in the world! People are going to HELL everyday and we are sitting on our butts talking about other Churches.
Join together as Churches for this cause of winning the world to Christ. We are doing a series call ReThink! Let us all ReThink everything in our lives for the cause of the Kingdom!
God Bless!
