The King's City Parish Model

Continuing with our discussion of cities...

So I was reading the posts that you guys have made and began thinking about the church and how frustrated I get with it sometimes. I started thinking about how I want to find a church in Birmingham that fills my needs. And it's not like the things I look for in a church are totally for my benefit only. I mean I want a church rooted in the Gospel, rooted in service, rooted in the community. But ultimately, I don't think that any of them have it just right. So...

I started flipping through some catalyst articles. Here is the first one I came across (from Mark Batterson in DC):
http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/the_best_decision_i_made_this_year/

I'll summarize in case you don't feel like reading the whole thing. He basically challenges us to get in the word (nothing new there, heard that before). But he digs deeper...

He begins unpacking one of my favorite verses, Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

He describes how we can rewire our human operating system to be a more God-like operating system simply through reading. He uses a T.S.Eliot quote to further illustrate this point, “Everything we eat has some effect upon us. It affects us during the process of assimilation and digestion; and I believe exactly the same is true of anything we read.” Ergo we are what we read.

Then he gets to his chief complaint (a little doctor speak for you) - he says that if you're not getting fed (at your church) it's your fault. WHOA. That one sticks me right in the side. I'm pretty sure he was talking to me there.

He goes on, "Here’s a news flash: the Bible was unchained from the pulpit nearly five hundred years ago during an era of history called the Middle Ages...It’s not enough to hear the truth. You have to own it. Or more accurately, it has to own you."

I think the man is on to something.

Next article I came across. http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/on_reaching_a_city/

This article addresses the urbanization of society and essentially puts forth a proposal for community sharing amongst congregations - having a common missional focus, a communal type of worship, and a common intimacy. I mean why is it that churches seem more like rivals these days. Why can't we move towards a model where we come together under our common creator? Wouldn't that be amazing !? What would that even look like...

I'll tell you.

Article 3 - http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/the_king_of_leon/

you have got to read this. And don't just read it, but get engrossed in its story. And play the song with it to (if you don't have it listen to it on youtube or something).

Seriously read the article before you go on.

This is a beautiful portrait of what Christ's church should look like and COULD look like! The city is the key! And His Kingdom is here and now. What can we do to help it be glorified?

It is so easy for me to get bogged down in all the things the church does wrong, all the ways I would do it better. But really it shouldn't be a surprise to me that the church has so many problems. It has been run by a bunch of people, like me, who think they can do it better than the last guy. And so the church continues to be misguided because it is missing its key ingredient, Christ. The church is not going to be fixed by us but by Him. It is our jobs to introduce living water to the people of the city. And to infuse a few heavy doses of gospel and redemption to our churches.