Perfect Church 2011 January 18, 2011
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Christian discipleship, Christian witness, Congregational Life, Core Values.Tags: Christian Community, Christian discipleship, Church Leadership, Mission & Purpose
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Recently, there was an interesting discussion being held by some clergy leaders in the Wisconsin Annual Conference about the “ideal congregation.” This brings to mind old conversations we used to have in New Jersey about “the perfect church.” In both cases, most of the answers revolve around faithful commitment on the part of all people in the congregation to love God, love each other, and serve in the world in Jesus’ name (my own very brief summarization…). There is nothing deeply profound or surprising in the responses — but they do raise a question. If this isn’t what’s happening in our churches, why not? This is the heart and soul of such recent books as “Simple Church” and the 101 other books just like it. Keep it simple. Get back to basics. Strip off all the extraneous layers of crust and crud we have heaped on the church to make it exciting and interesting and get back to what makes it real and meaningful. Help people love God, love each other, and get busy doing God’s will in the world.
