I was talking to a guy on a plane about God. When I asked him if he went to church, he explained politely that he wasn’t interested. I asked him why he wasn’t and he said matter of factly, “Because I’ve already been and nothing happened.”
Maybe he went to a “safe” church. In a safe church:
- The message makes you feel better.
- You’re never confronted about your sin.
- No one rocks the boat.
- You don’t have to change.
- You may never truly encounter our Holy and Life-giving God.
When I read about the New Testament Church, it was filled with people with a dangerous faith. While we certainly should make our environments welcoming, our message should remain dangerous.
- We’re called to leave everything to follow Christ.
- We’re invited to believe God for the impossible.
- We’re told to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
- We’re told that to find our life we have to lose it first.
There is nothing safe about that message. May our churches become a safe place to encounter a dangerous message.
Original post: http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/03/30/dangerous-churches/
