On the home page of a church's website reads the words "WE'RE SORRY for being self-righteous, judgemental bastards."
I've tried to remember the first time I started hearing churches apologize to the world. If I had to guess I'd probably say it began around the year 2000. It seems that more and more I hear those apologies. Sometimes I find myself apologizing. There are times we [as the Christian community] do need to apologize... (for being self-righteous, for being judgemental, for our non-responsiveness to the needs of our communities, etc) but that is for another post, another time.
What I've been contemplating over the last week is how we need to be celebrating what is right. We can turn on our flat screen televisions or surf the internet for a hot second and find all the bad news any day. What about the good stuff? I've seen crack-addicts turn their lives over to Christ as a result of the support of a church's recovery ministry -- that needs to be celebrated. A youth group who spends more time serving the community and doing mission work than having pizza parties and XBox challenges -- that should be celebrated. Senior ladies filling up a church's food pantry so that needy families can have food -- celebration anyone? It may be a bit easier this week to celebrate what is right because of the Thanksgiving holiday... but I encourage you to make it go beyond this week. Start thinking about 'how' we can celebrate these things too... (not to be proud... or even self-righteous) but because the church gets kicked around enough.
If you know how I run this site you know that I don't regulate the comments. You can say whatever you want, whenever you want. For this post [only] though I'd like to see some celebration going on. Give some shoutouts to things you are seeing in your church, your community, in other churches or para-churches, or even the Christian community at large.
I've tried to remember the first time I started hearing churches apologize to the world. If I had to guess I'd probably say it began around the year 2000. It seems that more and more I hear those apologies. Sometimes I find myself apologizing. There are times we [as the Christian community] do need to apologize... (for being self-righteous, for being judgemental, for our non-responsiveness to the needs of our communities, etc) but that is for another post, another time.
What I've been contemplating over the last week is how we need to be celebrating what is right. We can turn on our flat screen televisions or surf the internet for a hot second and find all the bad news any day. What about the good stuff? I've seen crack-addicts turn their lives over to Christ as a result of the support of a church's recovery ministry -- that needs to be celebrated. A youth group who spends more time serving the community and doing mission work than having pizza parties and XBox challenges -- that should be celebrated. Senior ladies filling up a church's food pantry so that needy families can have food -- celebration anyone? It may be a bit easier this week to celebrate what is right because of the Thanksgiving holiday... but I encourage you to make it go beyond this week. Start thinking about 'how' we can celebrate these things too... (not to be proud... or even self-righteous) but because the church gets kicked around enough.
If you know how I run this site you know that I don't regulate the comments. You can say whatever you want, whenever you want. For this post [only] though I'd like to see some celebration going on. Give some shoutouts to things you are seeing in your church, your community, in other churches or para-churches, or even the Christian community at large.
Labels: Church, Culture, Hot Topics, Issues
Funny how you only want positive comments this week when you yourself just got blasted yesterday for being nonresponsive and uncaring.
Huh? When did I get blasted? This is news to me... and, for clarification, I did not say "only positive comments this week." I said [for this post only] I would like to see some celebration going on... positive shoutouts.
/TC/
Big shout out to my church on my blog
http://churchformenflorida.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-if-each-church-adopted-homeless.html
Terrace--Expect this kind of thing in blogdom. IMHO If the dude, or woman, doesn't have the courtesy of enough to provide you a link to the blast site then they need to shut up.
So anonymous, are you ready to cowboy up and give terrace the whole story so he can follow Matt 18 and resolve the issue or are you going to be rebellious and cowardly and cause trouble in the cloak of the internet?
Just my thoughts on the subject...
Bill
Actually I should clarify, it was Terrace's church who was blasted yesterday, not just him. They were told how they were letting each other down. Their head deacon actually was in front of the church crying because of how disappointed he was.
Blasting aside, GREAT post TC.
Wow. So these comments haven't really gone in the manner I wanted. I started to delete "Mr or Mrs. Annonymous' comments (because frankly, I don't really care for the annonymous postings -- especially when they have a negative tone to them -- it's just cowardly in my opinion).
While the comment may have been warranted for the church where I serve, it has nothing to do with this post and was written in the wrong spirit. Sorry, just calling it as I see it.
As far as my church goes, our church body does a wonderful job of reaching out to those who are sick and hurting (see, I'm celebrating... even here) but occasionally we drop the ball. What church doesn't? Yesterday we (as a church) owned it and accepted the blame for that and yes, it was emotional but a teachable moment for our family. (I apologize for my comment earlier, not realizing that this was related to yesterday's worship service)
Even though I don't feel it was quite appropriate for the first commenter to post what they did here (and especially direct it at me - publicly), considering the content of the post, I do feel that I even spoke to this issue when I mentioned that I (myself) need to apologize for things sometimes -- and I did in this case.
The PURPOSE of this particular post was to CELEBRATE WHAT WAS RIGHT.... so let's get on to that. Thank You...
/TC/
My wife told about what was going on in the comments of this post...
Sometimes I just want to be Anonymous.
Signed, Dave... OOPS!!!
(What's up Clayton?!?)
Anyway I'm celebrating that you get to go home for Turkey weekend... Have Fun!!
couldn't resist sorry. (no I'm not the anonymous from earlier... I dont go to your church.
Dave (if that is your real name - lol), thanks for the comment. I, too, am grateful for the time away.
/TC/
Our pastor started a fabulous tradition of asking at the beginning of each service 'Have you been watching?' Have you been watching for ways that God is at work in your life? He then shares how he has seen God working during the past week and they open the mic for anyone to come and share how they've seen God at work.
It's become one of the best parts of the service every week.
@Shawn - What a great idea. Shawn, THAT is the power of a testimony. I think it is sad that many pastors in America don't turn the mic over to congregants these days.
I really think there is power in the testimony of others -- and this is a real key to revitalizing the church as we know it.
The most moving services I have ever been in were actually hearing the testimonies of people.
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