enough. I have found it refreshing and reinvigorating to have a structured prayer life. It could be the effects of having a new pastor. Scott's a great guy with a genuine faith. It could be the gathering together of brothers on Friday morning (If you're in the Antwerp area and want to gather with brothers for encouragement and Christian thought, then this is a great group to be in. Our next book that we will be going through is Spilt Grape Juice. It's a reevaluation of what we consider worship.) It could be the weekly parties that we are going to with the people in the play Lindsay is in. It could be that I don't write a blog everyday. It could be the family prayer in the morning. Whatever it is, I am thankful.But with growth always comes change.
I've been feeling a serious tugging to plant another church down here. I don't know how it would manifest itself, but I am going to seriously start praying about it. The weird thing is that Lindsay is all for it right now. I think that is the first time she has been for planting another church since we moved down here.
It all stems from conversations that I had with non-Christians at the party we were at last night. There main hang-ups with Christianity aren't the teachings of Christianity but the institutionalization of the church. I found it very interesting to actually hear from non and former Christians the very things that I have ranted about on this blog for almost a year now.
When you throw out the lines that I hear from other Christians - lines such as the church isn't perfect but that we are a collection of sinners - they ring back hollow. They are ineffective lines to people who really have a hang-up with Christianity because of the church. There needs to be a church that is noticeably trying to be like Christ. I could see these people responding well to a uninstitutionalized church much easier than all of the other churches that surround us down here. So now I am faced with whether and how to start that.
But I received a very firm reminder from God. Planting a uninstitutionalized church isn't just something to do for my sake. That is why I think I wanted to plant another one up to this point since we left Lansing. I miss the church in Lansing. I miss the fellowship, friendship, service, and encouragment. I miss the ability to talk about what we want to do and then doing it. I miss using the finances almost solely to meet people's needs. I wanted to plant another church for my sake so that I could experience those things again. God reminded me that planting this church is not for my sake but for the sake of those who are turned off to Him by the churches that are currently around here.
Let me be clear. I am not saying that people around here can't come to the Lord in the churches around here; however, I do think that most people who haven't come to the Lord as a result of the churches in this area won't be receptive to the Gospel presented in the same methods that these churches have presented it for years. They might respond to the Gospel if they see a different approach to living it out. I always said in planting the church in Lansing that we wanted to do church in such a way that those who were turned off by the present churches would be able to follow God in our church. Why plant another church that does things the same way as every other church around? We don't need more cookie cutter churches. We need groups of Christians who gather together and live out their lives as one in the unique way God has intended for them.
The weird thing about this prompting now is that the Antwerp Community Church, the church I currently attend, seems to be heading in the right direction under the new pastor. So I don't know what to do. I did back out of teaching the high school Sunday school class because I felt I was being pulled in a different direction. I don't know if planting a church is that direction or not. I'm not going to rush into anything. I would appreciate your prayers.
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On the subject of conversations at the party. One person shared that they were a Wiccan. They are going to lend me a couple of books on the subject. I am reading through a book right now entitled History of Pagan Europe
that I had previously bought but never touched. I will be sharing my findings and such here in the coming weeks. Watch out for potholes.
