The Death Knell of the Church

The cries for continuing to do things "the way we have always done them" are even now the death knell of the Church. As I was thinking over yesterday's posts, I realized that is the reason the Emergents are cornering this market, why we are losing relevance, and why so many under 35 today are tuning out what the Church is saying. Case in point: one of the most invigorating things I have seen in a local church recently is what is called "Faith for Today, Hope for Tomorrow". It is a revival in south Louisville that is not just one church renting an amphitheatre to have plenty of space, or someone trying to be loud and obnoxious to try and at least stir up the curiosity factor. Instead it is 5 churches, in a close, and inter-woven relationship coming together, though all Southern Baptist, to reach out to the community. And this year, for the first time, 6 more churches are involved in supporting the crusade as well. Including corporate sponsors, over a dozen Louisville entities are involved now in putting on what began as the passion of a small group of men who began meeting to minister to each other and have ended up starting a movement in south Louisville. I don't know about you, but churches cooperating in the way I have seen these churches is rare, and if those five men had decided to only do things the way they have always been done, not only would all 11 congregations be missing out, the entire surrounding community would be as well. If we are really serious about making a difference, and about regaining our impact on society and culture, we have to begin by finding new ways to take the message once for all delivered to the saints and tell it in a new, relevant way without alteration. For more information on the crusade see here. More thoughs coming soon.