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What is the Purpose of the Church?

Dear Friends, Have you thought about it? What is the purpose of the church? And has it changed? Consider what Reggie McNeal writes in his book, The Missional Renaissance: "The role of the church is simply this: to bless the world. In doing this, the people of God reveal God's heart for the world" As we have asked those in our groups how people view the church today, the responses to this question have painted a mostly negative picture. The longstanding traditions of the church at large seem to make the church appear to be unadaptive. The abusive actions of church leaders in positions of power and authority have created great distrust and anger against the church. And oftentimes for good reas

How Do We Respond

Dear Friends, Have you noticed that the church is no longer at the center of our culture? In years past, the church was the central hub of the social lives of most people and the main community center of many towns. These days not only do fewer people claim affiliation with a church or religion, but also many people view "the church" in a very different, often negative, light. If you haven't considered this before, it may feel like a foreign concept. For so many of us, church is just how we spend our Sundays. It is a central part of our life rhythm. However, some liken our society's shift away from church as a central authority to the discovery of the sun being the center of our solar system

Our World Has Changed

Dear Friends, Do you think our world has changed in the last decade? In 2009, Apple had just launched its App Store, Twitter had just gone mainstream, Video on Demand had just exploded, turn-by-turn auto navigation became capable on the iPhone, and FaceTime wouldn't be a feature until 2010... Yes... Our world has changed. During this same decade, our Western world church has begun realizing that a major shift has happened in the number of people who have a religious affiliation in America. Did you know that in 1954 the percentage of Americans professing to be Christian was at a high point of 71%? In 2016, this percentage was at 37%... that is a decrease of 100 million people! The interesting