User Friendly Churches?

There is growing movement with accompanying pressure for churches to become ‘User Friendly Churches.’ What is a User Friendly Church? The only term that really needs explanation is ‘user.’ The ‘user’ is not a brother or sister in Christ, but a person held captive by the darkness and sin of the world. As I understand it, those in the world should be made to feel welcome and at home in the church. They should not be made to feel out of place at the worship services. What kind of experience would such a user have if they attended a service at a ‘User Friendly Church?’ I found the answer to this question in the Courier Mail Weekend Edition October 30, 2010 in an article written by Angela Saurine on page 28 entitled ‘Give a little of yourself.’ Angela Saurine had been told that if she was in San Francisco she should not miss the soulful singing at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church.

I was intrigued by the opening three paragraphs of her article: ‘There is a seven piece band in the corner with an excitable Africa American guy in a brown pinstripe suit on the keyboard. He looks like he’s had a role in every movie about Motown ever made. If you close your eyes, you’d be forgiven for thinking the woman who gets up to sing is Mariah Carey. She is supported by an enthusiastic 100-strong choir, made up of all colours, ages and genders.’

Further on in the article we are told that when the Rev Cecil Williams ‘was appointed to the church in 1994, he threw the doors open to everyone: hookers, pimps, drug addicts and teenage runaways from the Tenderloin community and other poor neighbourhoods. The unconventional and outspoken preacher took the giant cross down from the wall and replaced it with a light show. There are no boring sermons at the service I attended. Instead there is a PowerPoint presentation with inspiring phrases, photo’s and quotes. Images of William Barack Obama and Martin Luther King flash up. The church is decorated with banners proclaiming acceptance, justice, hope and love. The service ends with a performance by a group called Love Everywhere. Two Asian women, one playing an accordion and the other playing a violin, come together on stage and kiss passionately. It is confronting, and not the type of thing you expect to see in church on a Sunday morning, but this is San Francisco, the gay capital of the world, and Williams has been performing gay weddings for decades.’(Angela Saurine)

Concerning her spiritual life Angela Saurine says, ‘I knew the fact that I wasn’t affiliated with any particular religion wouldn’t be a problem.’ This confession allows me to think of her experience of going to the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, as that of a ‘user’ which the User Friendly Churches are seeking to reach.

I knew nothing about the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church so I looked it up on the net to gather some more information. Here are their Mission Statement and core values.

Our MISSION is to create a radically inclusive, just and loving

community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the

cycles of poverty and marginalization.

GLIDE'S CORE VALUES
Our core values emerge from Glide as a spiritual movement. They are rooted in empowerment, recovery and personal transformation. Our core values inspire and guide our behaviours. They are the ground we stand on.
The Ground We Stand On
Radically Inclusive
We welcome everyone. We value our differences.We respect everyone.

Truth Telling

We each tell our story. We each speak our truth.We listen.

Loving and Hopeful

We are all in recovery. We are a healing community.We love unconditionally.

For the People

We break through barriers. We serve each other.We change the world.

Celebration

We sing. We dance. We laugh together.We celebrate life!

What did Angela Saurine the ‘user,’ get from attending the morning service on the Lord’s Day? From what she has written, the most I can say is a very interesting and pleasant time listening to soulful music and some enjoyment of a PowerPoint presentation. Whether Angela Surine was being politically correct and guarded in her comments, I do not know, but as she said nothing about God’s glory, the truth of his Word, the devastating nature of sin or the real need of faith and repentance for salvation in Christ Jesus. I would imagine that they were absent as it is the essential message of the Gospel that users say makes churches unfriendly. The Church’s Mission Statement and core values also strong suggest that they would be missing. The greatest problem with the User Friendly Church is that they have gone and asked the world what makes the church unfriendly. The world has answered, ‘Everything that makes you different to us, become one of us and ignore God.’

As I think of this concept I find my mind focussing on James 4:4, ‘Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.’ I found it ironic that an article of this nature appeared in the Courier Mail Weekend Edition October 30, 2010. The next day was Reformation Sunday when we would be reminded of the Reformation cry: Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone.

Where are we going?

Culture and society are never static, things are always changing. Things like values, morals, ethics, manners, attitudes and beliefs are constantly shifting. While much is made of Climate Change little is said about Culture Change. It is Culture Change that threatens marriage and family in ways that are very alarming

From 1995 Australians' tastes in television, books, films and music are becoming dominated by American products, according to a new study of cultural trends. Sociologist Dr Michael Emmison, of the University's Anthropology and Sociology Department, said his research had shown a generational shift towards consumption of cultural products from the United States. Where is this shift leading us as a nation? I found this blog on the ‘Grace to You’ provacative and alarming.

Raising Your Family in Sodom. Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Although we’ve noticed the steady, pebble-by-pebble crumbling of the family for decades, we’re now watching the landslide. We live in an age where society is no longer content to simply ignore the sanctity of marriage and the family—it attacks it with a vengeance. God’s established order for life has become a threat to this culture’s pursuit of sexual freedom.

Consider the global range of attacks on the family within the last decade. Back in 2000, Dutch parliament passed the first legislation in history that granted same-sex couples the right to marry. Following the Netherlands’s lead were Belgium (2003), Spain (2005), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006), and Norway (2008). Although traditional marriage was challenged much earlier in the U.S. (1993), social conservatives and moral majority leaders quickly enacted protective measures, prompting Congress to adopt same-sex marriage bans nationwide. The bans didn’t last long. Conservative “victories” were short-lived as judges began lifting bans and pushing Congress to amend the constitution. Since 2008, opposition against marriage and the family has intensified in America, taking many unsuspecting Christians by surprise.
The most recent example happened in California last week. On August 4, elected U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, himself a homosexual, carried out his own attack against the family. He used his judicial powers to overturn the will of California’s voters regarding Proposition 8, which proposed an amendment to California’s constitution, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Judge Walker declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Period. At this point, Judge Walker has won a temporary victory for the pro-homosexual agenda to redefine the fundamental concept of marriage according to their preferred sin.
Brace yourself, believer. You’re going to keep seeing this fire-storm of opposition against the family. Soon, many people will consign Christians who uphold a biblical view of marriage and family to the same moral category as white supremacy groups, and they’ll consider any effort to oppose homosexuality as a hate crime. In fact, it won’t be long before this blog post becomes a violation of law, under “hate speech” legislation.
Take another example: Carrie Prejean, one of the contestants in the 2009 Miss USA pageant, made public statements against same-sex marriage. The media demanded her head on a platter. One of the judges, a homosexual, asked whether she believed every state should legalize same-sex marriage. Prejean responded, “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.” Officials of the pageant immediately expressed outrage and open hostility toward her convictions. Prejean is no model of biblical Christianity, but the hostile reactions to her simple confession is a sample of what’s to come.
With mounting intensity, society continues to wage war on the traditional, biblical view of the family. Another key player in this war is Hollywood. Whenever Hollywood portrays families in modern films, television dramas, and sitcoms, they nearly always caricature them as a grossly dysfunctional unit. Not only is there a noted absence of any male leadership in most instances, but oftentimes there’s no authority figure present at all, creating a scenario where anything goes. But not only is dad absent, so is mom. She’s either working outside the home, or working on an adulterous relationship. Even the titles of many mainline television programs betray their outrageous content. Programs such as ‘Sex in the City’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’ have turned marital infidelity into a laughing matter. It’s prime-time “entertainment,” and Americans eat it up.
Such portrayals of the American family were once rare for Hollywood, but now they literally dominate the big-screen. And here’s why: they are accurate reflections of our fallen culture, a culture that systematically undermines love, order, authority, and righteousness. Commenting on the epidemic absence of morality within society, John MacArthur writes:
Casual sex is expected. Divorce is epidemic. Marriage itself is in decline, as multitudes of men and women have decided it’s preferable to live together without making a covenant or formally constituting a family. Abortion is a worldwide plague. Juvenile delinquency is rampant, and many parents have deliberately abandoned their roles of authority in the family. On the other hand, child abuse in many forms is escalating.
All those elements prevail in our society and resonate with our fallen flesh. Therefore, they dominate the entertainment industry. It’s the law of supply and demand in action. Hollywood gives people what they want—corruption.
Trying to find a traditional, structured family anywhere on television is nearly impossible. While lamenting Hollywood’s sick portrayal of families, someone made the following observation:
The only television “family” who regularly attend church together are the Simpsons—and they are cartoon exaggerations deliberately saddled with the worst imaginable traits, designed mainly to mock and malign both church and family. It’s no joke, though. A relentless parade of similarly dysfunctional assortments of people assaults us on television and in the movies. Hollywood has given a broad new meaning to the word family. Meanwhile, traditional nuclear families with a strong, reliable father and a mother whose priorities are in the home have been banished from popular culture, made to feel as if they were the caricature.
Such examples may seem subtle and harmless to some Christians. But over time, like water erosion on the face of rock, these secular ideas at first influence then control the thinking of many unsuspecting Christians who expose their families to such corrupting ideas.
Take Lot, for example. Lot “pitched his tent as far as Sodom.” Why is that significant? Because ”the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.” The next time we find Lot in the inspired record, he is no longer a stranger to the wicked inhabitants of Sodom—he’s one of their leading citizens. Further, he calls them his “brothers,” chooses one of their citizens as his wife, and raises his two daughters in a pagan environment. Apparently, Lot acclimatized himself to the wicked lifestyle of the Sodomites. When God sent two angels to rescue His family, the entire male population of Sodom sought to assault the angelic visitors sexually, who had lodged with Lot’s family for the night. What was Lot’s solution to the problem? He quickly offered his two virgin daughters to satisfy their sexual cravings. During the angelic rescue, Lot was reluctant to abandon his residence in Sodom, and when he finally realized the danger he and his family were in, his sons-in-law mocked his warnings to flee. Apparently, the citizens of Sodom didn't take Lot too seriously when it came to discussions about God.
In the New Testament, Peter uses the story of Lot as an example of how God can rescue His people from the jaws of temptation. In the process, he sheds additional light on the severity of Sodom’s corrupting influence when he writes that God, “delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day be seeing and hearing their lawless deeds).” After God rescued Lot’s family and sent judgment upon Sodom, Lot’s wife, longing to return to her sinful pattern of life was turned into a pillar of salt. Following that tragedy, Lot’s two daughters got their father drunk and committed sexual incest with him in order to preserve their family lineage. The record of Lot closes on a bitter note—he was a tormented soul who jeopardized himself and his family with a compromised way of life. For his legacy, he spawned two cursed people groups—the Amorites and the Moabites.
If God hadn’t told us Lot was “righteous” (2 Peter 2:7, 8), it would be very difficult to identify Him as a citizen of God’s kingdom. The story of Lot is a classic example of how easily the world is able to pollute and corrupt a righteous mind.

Christian, how close have you pitched your tent to Sodom? Have you taken a close look at your family lately?
Think about this: How are today’s Christians indifferent or asleep in the cultural battle for the family? How is the enemy infiltrating Christian homes (e.g., immersion in modern technology, exposure to secular entertainment)? Enjoy the thread.
Tommy ClaytonWeb Content Developer

We all hope for a better-life.

An interesting article on All Black rugby union player Brad Thorn appeared in the Courier Mail’s Qweekend July 31- August 1.2010. Here is an extract from the article written by Trent Dalton.

‘Thorn says that in 1997, he was at his “absolute loosest”. “I had money, the car, the house. When I was younger I thought once I had that stuff I would be happy. But once I had that stuff I just wanted more stuff. Then I was thinking, “I’m going downhill with all this stuff.’”
On a league tour of Britain representing Australia, he shared a room with fellow forward Jason Stevens, a devout Christian. Stevens was known among the team for insisting he’d be celibate until he was married. “Jason stood out to me,” Thorn says. “I said to him, ‘I like Christians, they’re nice people. When I’m older, I’ll be one but I don’t want to be a hypocrite that says he’s a Christian but he’s a loose cannon.”’ Stevens smiled, simply suggesting his roommate should one day try talking to Jesus.
“I went home for a couple of months after the tour and just kept on with my sort of ways.” Thorn says. “And I got to a point one day at my house where I realised I wasn’t changing.” He remembers what he said to Jesus. He said, “Jesus, I don’t know if you’re there or not, but I’m sorry for the stuff I’ve done. Please help me turn this life around and I’ll go forward from there.” Not the most flowery prayer ever uttered, but honest and heartfelt. “There was no ray of light or anything,” Thorn says. “I just got on with things and thought I’d just keep it to myself and see if there was any change. Then a couple of months later, at the Broncos, a few blokes were asking my roommate, Shane Webeke, if something was different about me and that’s when I knew things had changed for me. Webbie was good. He had my back…it’s not the most popular thing to be a Christian in a footy team.”’ (End of Quote used with permission.)

I found this testimony refreshing in five ways.

1. Brad Thorn says, ‘I had money, the car, the house. When I was younger I thought once I had that stuff I would be happy. But once I had that stuff I just wanted more stuff.’ He had everything that the world could offer, but it did not bring happiness. The happiness that he thought he would find proved illusive because greed accompanied the stuff he accumulated. It would be true to say that Brad Thorn hoped for a better-life, a life having more and more stuff could not give.

2. Brad Thorn saw in the life of Jason Stevens the kind of life he would like to live. The simple advice of Jason Stevens that Brad speaks to Jesus about his life was backed up with a lifestyle that bore witness to a life set free by Christ.

3. Brad Thorn’s team-mates knew he was a Christian not so much because he told them, but they noted a changed life. You cannot be walking with the Lord and continue to live like the world.

4. It is interesting that Brad Thorn says, “It’s not the most popular thing to be a Christian in a footy team.” Any Christian working or living surrounded by unbelievers will find that they are not very popular. It is better to be content in the Lord than to be very popular, but dissatisfied with life.

5. The final aspect of this article that is interesting is the honesty of Brad Thorn. The honesty comes out in three ways. Firstly in recognising the truth about himself: ‘I’m going downhill with all this stuff.’ His successfulness did not deceive him; he saw he was on a downhill slide. Secondly when he said ‘I don’t want to be a hypocrite that says he’s a Christian but he’s a loose cannon.’ A Christian without a positive witness is a hypocrite. Thirdly in the description of his conversion: “Jesus, I don’t know if you’re there or not, but I’m sorry for the stuff I’ve done. Please help me turn this life around and I’ll go forward from there.” Not the most flowery prayer ever uttered, but honest and heartfelt. “There was no ray of light or anything.” Not only was his prayer honest and heartfelt, but he deliberately says there was nothing dramatic or extraordinary in committing his life to the Lord.

It is significant that even though from a worldly perspective Brad had it all he still hoped for a better life. The better-life is to be found in Jesus, who in John 10:10 says, ‘I have come to that they may have it (life) more abundantly.’ This is not life with the abundance of more-stuff, but a life that is more abundant because one is reconciled to God.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest hope ever to come into the world.

Hope is an aspect of life that all men and women need. I think that the world often confuses hope with optimism. Here is an extract from an article that I took off the internet:

‘As Oscar Romero once said, ‘Hope is not resignation; it is a commitment to continue to struggle.’ Therefore, hope creates endurance and strength in a person. Otherwise he or she is simply sitting back and wishing away his or her life. This is not the way to live! One must take action and decide what will become of their life. …. Hope is not merely wishful thinking; it is much more than that. Hope is knowing and strongly believing that though one is in a desperate situation, things will improve. This faith and optimism has helped individuals gather enough courage to get through the day throughout history. In fact, hope was personified in Greek mythology as Elpis, and when Pandora opened Pandora's Box, she let out all the evils except one: hope. The ancient Greeks considered hope to be as dangerous as all the world's evils, but without hope to accompany all their troubles, humanity was filled with despair. It was a great relief when Pandora revisited her Box and let out hope as well. In today's world, however, hope remains strong on the list of human needs. It is like a single candle in a dark hallway, it gives off just enough light to continue on and find the way out of the darkness. This light of hope burns so strongly in the hearts of some, that it is all they need to keep on living. Hope is not resignation; it is motivation and the foundation to build one's life upon.’

The concept of hope spoken of in the above quote is typical of the world’s understanding of hope. Biblical hope is fundamentally different as it is firmly rooted and grounded in God and particularly in the saving work of Jesus Christ on Calvary. I do not think there is any real hope outside of the great grace of God. Paul in Ephesians 2:11-13 reminds us gentile of our lot in life before the gospel of Christ was extended to us. Paul says, ‘Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’ What a dreadful state to be in ‘having no hope and without God in the world.’ Every Christian should be filled with great compassion for unbelievers who have no hope and are without God in the world.

Over the next 2 months we will examine the Biblical concept of hope. We will not only look at how devastating it is to have no hope and be without God in the world, but also at the hope Christians have even when their lives are in turmoil and confusion due to the complex trials of life. As we look at the biblical concept of hope I pray that God will answer the prayer found in Romans 15:13, ‘Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’

Pastor Trevor