So, I’m still wordless…

We had staff meeting today…after Byron and I had our own “meeting” coming home from Starbucks - that’s my time of clarity for the day…post Starbucks!

We talked a lot about the criticism of “relevant” churches - that they/we are unevangelistic and watered-down. I can get on a soap-box about this quickly, especially when I’m all hopped up on a venti Starbucks.

I grew up in the home of an itinerant evangelist…the daughter of a preacher and the granddaughter of an evangelist who was Billy Graham’s right-hand man. Then, I became the wife of an evangelist turned pastor…

I know evangelism. It’s my heritage and in my blood. I have a great deal of respect for any person who makes it their life mission to bring others into a relationship with Christ. I have respect, but I also know the down-low on real life-change.

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about what the biggest “threat” to Christianity is - Some say it’s liberalism, others Calvinism, others the post-modern era, others hedonism… The list of offenders goes on and on. They say if you don’t preach a certain way (three points and an illustration - or taking two years to walk through a Book of the Bible verse-by-verse), well, you must be a heretic…an ear tickler! They say if your congregation doesn’t “look” a certain way then they are not learning to be holy. They say to be “relevant” is to be more influenced by the world than by scripture or even by Christ.

I heard today that I…and my church…my philosophy of ministry…Byron’s vision and the vision of other churches like C3…that we are the biggest threat to Christianity. This was espoused by an icon of the Evangelical world…

I don’t even desire to argue about this any more. I don’t believe I have that luxury - I just have to be obedient, regardless of how I’m misunderstood.

Life-change is the only thing that matters. At C3 Church, true life-change and full Christ-followship is our mission - bottom line.

If the traditional, institutional, self-preservationist church wants to call C3, and churches like us, a threat…it hurts but, oh well…

Because I know the truth. If a traditional church-lover were to meet our members…especially the new converts, they would no doubt shake their head and point out a myriad of flaws - they don’t look like American “Christians” should look, perhaps. If they were to be judged by comparison to the suit-wearing, program leading, committee chairing, hymn memorizing - so we’ll give him the keys to the church building - type of christian, well, our membership might not measure up. But, if you were to ask their neighbors, their co-workers, their children, “Is there something different about them”, you would get a more accurate measure of what true life-change looks like.

And it’s happening a lot. Life-change, the kind that ushers in full Christ followship, is what C3 is all about. Not “easy believism”, just an easier way to hear the truth. The Christian life is hard, full of sacrifice, but the Gospel is simple…simple and profound.

There’s strength and clarity in just focusing on Christ and on others…

…all the rest is just a whole lot of muddy water.

Well, I guess I did have some words, after all.

Peace.