When Steve Jobs was fired from Apple he was devastated. He felt like he dropped the ball. But something slowly dawned on him, he still loved what he did! Turns out getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to him. It freed him to enter one of the most creative periods of his life. The church today is in a similar quandary. According to research...
The church will survive...but how? Like Steve Jobs, many of us are still very much in love. And perhaps this gloomy situation isn’t so gloomy after all. The truth is that this gloomy situation will usher us into one of the most creative periods in the life of the church. This is the context that “Church Forums” was born. It’s goal is simply to help narrow the widening gap between the church and surrounding culture. It does this by creating a healthy dialogue around spiritual, and sometimes controversial, topics. After all, there’s no conversation, no question, no person too big for God. Not only does Church Forums seek to promote a healthy dialogue with people outside the mainstream church, we understand that the need for a healthy dialogue is often due to abuse caused by church in the first place. For too many people the church is a place where their questions go to die. And that’s too bad, because there are so many great questions for the Church to engage. Questions about abuse, LGBT equality, evolution, the afterlife, the economy, saving the planet, preventing global war, preventing violence in our community. etc. Unfortunately, churches often simplify difficult topics with black and white answers or they just avoid the issues all together. Even worse, the church experience for many has been one of wrath and judgment rather than love and acceptance. I love how Rob Bell describes this context in his book What We Talk About When We Talk About God. "Many today can’t find meaning in the dominant conceptions, perceptions, and understandings of God they’ve encountered. In fact, those conceptions aren’t just failing them but are actually causing harm” Questions aren’t always meant to be answered. They’re meant to be wrestled with. To be discussed together in safe places. And it’s in the discussions where true growth occurs. Where relationships develop. And where Church happens. So What is “Church Forums”? The PURPOSE is simple: To provide resources for community gatherings that engage today's culture.” This is done in the spirit of the ancient Roman “town hall meeting” Forums are defined as “an assembly for the discussion of questions of public interest.” This assembly does not have to take place inside a church building or on a Sunday. In fact you might discover that hosting an event is more effective outside your church campus. The GOAL of Church Forums is simple: To help eliminate the widening gap between churches and their surrounding community. Adopting a Forum model for your church will help widen the influence you have in your city. While it's certainly more challenging than ever to impact today's culture, it's not impossible. One of Albert Einstein's most famous quotes says "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." To close this gap and effectively impact our communities, we need to creatively restructure the way we do church. The VISION of Church Forums is simple: To create a diverse and unified church. Most churches today are segregated not just by race, but by ideas. It is unlikely that the 2 billion followers of Christianity will agree on everything. Nonetheless, the vision of Church Forums is to be one where diversity is celebrated not despised. We strive to be a safe place where people feel loved and accepted regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. We strive to create an environment where people are encouraged to ask questions and grow at their own pace. Ultimately, we strive to not just discuss problems but find ways we can contribute to their solutions. Our hope is that like Steve Jobs, these difficult times will become the best thing that ever happened to us. It will be a time when people begin to fall in love with church all over again.
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