[Part 6 of 10 in answering some FAQ's about The City Church]Here's the "rhythm" we're building in The City Church, and it's actually easier to look at on a monthly basis, rather than weekly. Our aim is to "do more by doing less," and to live in the balance of the three areas to which the Gospel calls us: God (to worship and grow in him), community (sharing authentic life together), and mission (fulfilling the great commission).
We find that typically, strong Bible Belt churches are really strong in the "God circle," with great worship services/experiences and preaching; do a mediocre job with the "community circle," with 50-70% in classes, groups, etc. which at least attempt true biblical community; and are found lacking in the "mission circle," with the exception of sending money or a few of their folks to a foreign country. Of course there are exceptions to this, and we praise God as he works in many expressions of his local body. But we're building out a DNA that doesn't try to devalue any of these areas, but rather tries to "re-value" the aspects of our calling on which we've missed out.
Your weekly Village: described more fully yesterday, Villages are smaller "church communities" meeting in neighborhoods across Fort Worth. With the idea of taking the church to the people, you'll pick a Village near your home, and gather on a weeknight in a house, apartment, condo, coffeeshop, pub, etc. for a time of "breaking bread and fellowship, ...devoting [yourselves] to the apostles' teaching, and the prayers," and meeting each others' needs (that's the basis of "church life" described in Acts 2:42-47).
Sunday All-Church Gatherings: this is the section of Acts 2 left out of yesterday's Village description: "attending the temple together..." At least three weeks of each month (and sometimes more), everyone involved in The City Church, and all the Villages across Fort Worth, will gather together downtown on Sunday evenings, for a celebration: we'll celebrate God through singing, creeds, and prayers; we'll celebrate scripture through the reading and preaching of the Word; we'll celebrate Christ through regular communion; and we'll celebrate what God is doing in your Village, your life, and your part of Fort Worth, through times of sharing and testimony. These are weeks of worshiping together, as theologians would say it, "the assembly; the church gathered."
Sent-out Sundays: because we also believe in worshiping through as James 1 talks about (serving the poor, feeding the needy, loving our neighbors), we'll take one Sunday every 4-6 weeks not "off," but worship as "the church scattered." These weeks are intentional moments carved into the rhythm of our corporate church life, as living symbols of what we should all be doing individually: living lives of mission. We're not sending you out to knock on doors, distribute tracts, or anything like that, but rather, as Jesus sent his disciples into the world, we're being sent out to build relationships, love our neighbors, and seek the welfare of our city. You might throw a Super Bowl Party or have your neighbors over for dinner; you might mow a neighbor's yard and eat dinner with her afterward; occasionally, we'll serve together as an all-church family on larger projects.
Other gatherings: once or twice a month we might host a seminar or class, a women's or men's gathering, a worship + prayer night, a student or college retreat, or another "event" like that, as it fits our mission and structure. However, in "doing more by doing less," we want to keep your calendar sparse, so you can build non-programmed relationships, both inside and outside the church family, as you play, live, and work in this great city.
All this will be different this fall, in The City Church's core phase. But looking long-term, that's the rhythm we hope to build together as we live as "one church existing as communities on mission, for the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth."
Next FAQ: What kind of missions will we do/how much $$ will we give away?
0 comments:
Post a Comment