Is the Church a Convenience?
Convenience is a top-rated value in our world today. Would you not agree? Having a fast food restaurant is not enough convenience for us; we need a drive-through window at a fast food restaurant for added convenience. No longer do we have to go to the bank; we can do all of our banking online. I even heard about a funeral home out west, with a large plate glass window, which allows the funeral home to display the body of a dead person so that the viewers can simply drive by in their cars, view the body, sign the book so that the family will know you have visited, press a button to hear a recorded obituary, and drive away having never left the comfort of their car.
Being a committed Christian, however, is counter-cultural to all of this in that it is one of the most inconvenient decisions you can make. Think about it. Jesus Christ talked a lot about carrying a cross, lovingly the unlovely, serving, walking an extra mile, turning the other cheek, and giving generously. So if you are looking simply for a modern day convenience, Jesus Christ and His Church are not for you.
So, why do we follow Jesus Christ? And why are we in the process of planting a brand new church patterned after the model we find in the book of Acts? Because we are weary of spiritual substitutes and pabulum. We want our faith to intersect with every part of our lives. We want our faith to inform all of our decisions; we don’t want to compartmentalize them. Yes, the peace and love of Jesus Christ are wonderful and irreplaceable, but we also want to be able to hear the call to faithfulness which Jesus Christ spoke about and lived. We want to be molded by something other than convenience and religious traditions.
Convenience is not bad; it is simply limited if that is our sole value. So are you ready to make a commitment to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ which is not based only upon convenience? If so, then you might want to check us out soon!
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Bill Blanchard, Pastor
Northway Community Church