Questions About Our Church – No Offense, Of Course!

A while back I received an email from a Christian who wanted to know more about our new Church.  It is typical of emails and questions I’ve received along the way, so I thought I would post a couple of his questions with my responses.

He: What is your teaching syle?  Topical?  Inductive?
Me: Yes.  We value the Bible too highly to be limited to any one “Bible Study Method.”

He: What is your vision for your church?  Briefly, of course – I ask because I noticed on your website something about “reaching the unchurched.”  What does that mean, and how does it affect your teaching and other elements of your service, leadership, etc.?  We are not “unchurched,” and not at all interested in a “seeker friendly” approach, where you may try hard to make everything palatable to the seeker.  That’s all fine, but I’ve been there, don’t want to be anymore.  it’s time to move on to growth and maturity.  No offense, of course!
Me: None taken.  Our vision is developing More, Stronger and Closer followers of Jesus Christ.  (I then shared some of the  values that I discuss in this talk:  North Point Compass – Part 1 and North Point Compass – Part 2.   The audio is pretty bad, but the info is clear.)

Me (continued): It sounds as though you may have had a bad experience with “seeker friendly” churches.  As with “seeker un-friendly” churches, there are certainly  extremes that are way off base.  Our service and teaching is designed to be “obstacle free” for those who do not yet know Christ and “believer enriching” for those who do.

That said, however, we do believe that spiritual maturity does not exist apart from the mission of Jesus.  This means that believers who are growing and maturing are becoming more and more selfless and compassionate towards those who do not know Christ, because they are becoming more and more like Christ Himself. Growth and maturity are demonstrated by Christ-likeness.  That’s impossible without being sensitive to seekers in the process.  But by “sensitive” we don’t mean “watered down.” We mean we are kind and “understandable” with the only obstacle being the “Stumbling Block” of Jesus Himself.

But if I’m understanding your questions correctly, this could be where the deal is most likely broken for you.  I hope that is not the case, but there are many, many churches in the area who are no longer interested in reaching people who do not know Christ.  It should not be difficult to find one to plug into if that is your desire.

However, if you are still interested in our church, I’d be happy to get to know you better and share with you a bit more of what we’re all about.  Thanks for asking, and may God bless you as you seek to follow Him with all of your heart.

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If these types of questions are asked about Stoneview, the response will be basically the same.