Comfortable for who?
Heard a speaker tonight say, "The Church should make the dechurched feel comfortable and the churched feel uncomfortable."
So who's allowed to get comfortable within the Church? Who is the Church for anyway? I mean, we know it is the bride that ultimately brings glory to Christ. But, how does that play out? Do we do Church with Christians in mind or with non-Christians in mind?
posted by Andrea @ 11:58 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Great question. Are we seeing the final gasp of the “church for the world” (in worship) as a new church emerges that makes worship for Christians then turns immediately missional toward the world? Hmmmmmm......
I just thought about that before reading your blog, so now I feel compelled to comment. We do not "do" church with any person in mind. We do church with Christ in mind. When we start communing with eachother for an agenda to either bring in Christians or Non Christians we've lost sight of what church is really for.
I think the first issue is that we try to "do" church rather than see our worship enfold out of our community...But perhaps that's just too ideal. SO my other question is, what is the definition of comfortable in or for a church? As a Christian, i find myself more uncomfortable in church when i get too comfortable...A church should be inviting for a non-believer, but if it was just plain comfortable, why wouldnt they just go back home and sit on the couch? I would imagine a non-believer needing to find a church community welcoming and appealing but not necessarily comfortable. As for Christians, we shouldn't be comfortable in the sense that we negate repentance, we cease to speak truth if it hurts, or we refuse to deal with our weaknesses. It should be comfortable for Christians in the sense that we are not alone, that we belong to Christ in a setting of love and forgiveness.
Your quote reminds me of the old saw that a good preacher "comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable." There's a certain amount of truth to that.
I think they are talking about comfortable in the sense of complacency and inaction. On the other hand Christians should find comfort and peace and rest in the reign of Christ (Edmund eventually found peace with his eyes on Aslan, even in the presence of a hostile enemy.)
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