Isn't She Beautiful?

What if the world saw what the church, the people of God was doing and said, "Isn't she beautiful!" What if the church took seriously the life to which Jesus calls all disciples to reach out to the lost and be compassionate to the marginalized? What if the church stopped measuring itself by the three Bs, buildings, budgets and butts? What would the church look like?

Over the last two days, 2,000 people have been wrestling with this question at Mars Hill Bible Church, in Grandville, MI.

Lots of people have been talking about this in churches across the globe for the last several years. Walt Kallestad wrote a book called, "Turning Your Church Inside Out". I don't think that even starts to get at what these questions are asking because behind them are still concerns about the 3 Bs.

In the opening session, Rob Bell, founding pastor of Mars Hill said this, "The Church is the only organization that exists for non-members." Is that possible? Can we put our trust in the God of the cross to the point that we actually believe and follow this? Isn't it possible that discipleship is less about the number of people in a worship area or sanctuary on a Sunday morning and more about the number of lives affected by the gospel in their ordinary lives during the week?

I am going to be posting a number of reflections on what I took in from this conference over the next few days. I am not going to promise any answers because when I look back at my notes, there are probably 10 times more questions than there are answers, but I hope to create space for us as a community of readers, believers, humans, or what ever else we may be, to discuss what it might mean for us as humans, created by a God who comes to us over and over again, to engage and live faithfully in the world in which this God loves.

It's late, so this is it for now. Please join the conversation and ask your own questions!

Peace to your house.