Our Hangout

Good News

Three years ago I posted about a friend who had just decided that he was done with church. At the time I spoke about my own frustration with a church system that was needlessly allowing people to fall through the cracks because it was more focused on itself and "the system" than it was about "biblical community."

Now, I know that people make their decisions as well. And my friend made choices that led them through what they called "a dark time of faith." Still we live in a time where more and more people are walking away or giving up on church, although not giving up on their spirituality.

I struggle with both sides of the equation. I struggle with churches that are more about maintaining systems, institutions and the status quo, than they are about become biblical faith communities where people do life together, share, care, grow, encourage and challenge one another to follow Jesus. And where this is absent, people will continue to walk away from institutionalized religion. The old rhetoric "BE TRUE TO YOUR CHURCH!" is not doing it anymore.

On the other hand I know that God's design for those who would follow him is not an individual journey, but a journey in community with other people who would genuinely seek him together and encourage one another as they seek to truly become more like Jesus as they follow him day by day. The Bible is full of encouragement towards all that we are to experience, be and do together with "one another," in community - things that we can't experience, be and do alone.

What has brought these thoughts to mind? Well, that friend I mentioned at the beginning. They callled me yesterday. They went to church this past weekend for the first time in three years. Things are changing and God is drawing them out of their own "spiritual dark time" (their words).

My hope, because I care deeply about this friend, and because I've spent the past few years hoping and praying that this wouldn't be a time where they would just give up and abandon faith, my hope is that this church would care about and help their people to experience a biblical faith community.

It was good to hear from my friend again.

Posted by ed