What is Sunday Morning for?

Have you ever heard someone say something like, ” Church must be relevant to the lost people who need Christ?”
It’s something I hear all the time.

And it’s something I agree with…

However when you start talking to them you find they have a completely different idea of what a “relevant” church looks like…

For many people “Church” refers to the structures, services, and programs offered by an organization… and often time is simply shorthand for talking about Sunday morning services.
My understanding of “Church” is the community of believers baptized into christ. You might see how this can get confusing.

I just finished a book by Pastor Brad Powell called “Change Your Church for Good.” All and all it wasn’t a bad book but I think the name “change your Sunday for good” might have been more appropriate.

Let me tell you why…

For all my years in ministry I have heard about Pastor Brad Powell. Brad is the pastor of North Ridge church in Plymouth, Michigan, the largest church near my home town of Ann Arbor. I remember touring their expansive youth area, going to concerts in their stadium style sanctuary, and talking to countless people in the area about their experiences attending or visiting this church, but somehow I never actually attended a service there. The life of their church has been something that has always remained somewhat enigmatic to me.

Because of this I was really interested in reading “Change Your Church for Good,” Powells new book, and was blessed to receive a complementary copy of the book from Thomas Nelson.

The book is in many ways a history of Northridge and the changes Pastor Powell believes resulted in their great growth. For him the core of what made the church grow seems to be linked with a concern for the well being of outsiders rather then insiders a.k.a. Making “church” more relevant.

Powells process  of making church more relevant for the lost seems to be centered around the Sunday service. This is intended to give the attendees a experience that is easy to follow with an aesthetic that is easy to swallow.

This is accomplished by using language that is easy to understand, a message that can be picked up by anyone and applied to their lives, music that mimics popular formulas, and an environment devoid of any of the potentially confusing vestments, art and architecture of the historical church.

Within this candy coating Powell argues that there should be a strong foundation on Biblical truth that does not suffer from cultural erosion. Powell likens historical church structures to a hand pump that delivers living water in a way that has become irrelevant in the age of the mega church faucet. Traditional church structures “put people to sleep,” according to Powell, but new one wake them up.

What is waking them up? Is it the videos and music or is it the conviction and life of the Holy Spirit?
I have gone to just about every kind of church service there is, and every single one I have gone to has a predictable formula and order. If you are simply trying to surprise people with a service it will get very old very fast.

Wouldn’t the world be much more shocked by lives that consistently demonstrate love then with a service that consistently mimics their surroundings.

On the surface “Change Your Church for Good” seems to be a book that teaches pastors how to make a service that make it easy for people to fit God into their lives. With a message of “make attenders of all nations” rather then make disciples…

This is too harsh though…

It’s clear that Powell has a passion for reaching the lost, and hurt people with the message of Jesus. I am actually very glad for the work he is doing in my hometown. The book offers valuable insight to the the difficulties of leading a church organization. Powell discusses how to build up leaders, make gradual changes, and steer clear on some very real dangers that any pastor or church leader may face.

I would like to hear more about how Powell works to make disciples once he had attenders.

Sunday is the beginning the first day of creation and the day where a group of confused women first discovered that Jesus was risen two thousand years ago. This surprising discovery is often the experience of people who come to Northridge.

So thank you Brad! Keep up the good work.

However in my own spiritual life I have found that the means though which God has formed me have been through many of the same religious rituals and traditions that Powell rejects as the irrelevant “hand-pump.”

Doesn’t water taste so much sweeter when you have to work for it?

Sunday is ALSO the end… the Eighth Day, the eschaton, where we celebrate in the liturgy with the angels and saints in praise of God and commune with Christ himself. This is something I get a taste of in the traditional liturgies of the church.

We are all believes between Sundays… living as part of the Church.