Friday, September 25, 2009

What Makes Churches Great?

In the church world there are a lot of different philosophies of what makes a church great, what churches should aim to be and do. There are three that I tend to hear a lot. Three that I wholeheartedly agree about and resonate with. Three that I see throwing eggs at each other from over the fence. Three that I wish could all be true at the same time instead of having to compromise one for the other.


1. Solidly Biblical Churches. These are churches committed to theological excellence.
- doing things right theologically
- ensuring and maintaining Biblical integrity
- not compromising on the teaching of the Bible
- interpreting and applying scripture and to protect sound doctrine
- teaching everyone to know God's Word for themselves and be able to defend their beliefs with scripture

2. Passionately Spiritual Churches. These are churches that are committed to experiencing God personally and powerfully.
- being Spirit-filled and Spirit-fueled
- being on fire
- being passionate about prayer and worship

3. Culturally Relevant Churches. These are churches committed to making church relevant to everyday life.
- meeting people where they are at
- bridging the world of the Bible with the world of daily challenges
- making the music, the message, and other aspects of the church styled to be attractive and compelling to people

Why can't we do all three? Why would we have to do one without doing the others? Why do people assume because we are doing one that we are not committed to doing the others? Why do some groups choose to do one or two and exclude the other?

What makes a church great? Being able to be and do all three of these at the same time without compromising any of them!