They are a young couple. Just
settling into a quiet neighborhood in the middle of a city of more than four
million people. It would be easy for them to focus only on putting their own
house in shape, but one of the things you notice when you're with them is they
make a point of stopping and talking with their neighbors. They've only lived
in their house for a few months, but they can tell you about the people who
live around them. They can even tell you the names of people's dogs, and that
the huge dog next door loves to play with his metal food dish. (This couple
looks for ways to help their neighbors out.)
It's striking. Living in that
neighborhood doesn't mean walking by people, but for them it means getting to
know people...engaging people...having an external focus.
George Barna observes how the
Christian churches have been marginalized because they are so isolated from
their own neighbors and communities. He says that the church is seen as
"an island of piety, surrounded by a sea of irrelevance."
Churches alive with the Spirit of
God are communities that refuse to limit their energy and time to activities
within the four walls of their buildings, but they are communities that are
externally focused (see Rick Rusaw & Eric Swanson's book "The Externally
Focused Church"). These churches are involved in their communities, they
are looking for ways to serve others, and they are always building
relationships with the people around them.
When I think about the ways our
Jesus community is engaging the world, serving the community, I think of the
Wednesday Food Pantry, Parents' Day Out (PDO) Daycare, the Interfaith Winter
Shelter, the Jubilee College Ministry, and The Open Door.
One of the very best ways our
church has of reaching, getting to know and serving the larger Bloomington
community is The Open Door.
The Open Door is a key way that
we, as a faith community, reach out to the larger world. It is one way we have
of going beyond our walls and trying to connect with people where they are in a
way that "fits" their experience. Through The Open Door we are
seeking to build relationships with those who are spiritually hungry but may be
hesitant about getting close to "the church." We're trying to go to
them rather than passively waiting for them to come to us.
Right now The Open Door team is
praying and working to:
- Strengthen the worship
experience.
- Grow the ministry we offer to
young families and children.
- Look for effective ways to get
the word out about The Open Door to the larger community.
- Seek creative ways to serve the
community and bless people (whether or not they ever darken the door for
worship).
- Develop a core of committed,
passionate, creative, serving leaders.
- Nurture genuine community so that
people not only share a space for worship but actually know one
another...care for one another...and love one another.
Whether you attend The Upper
Room, Classic Worship in the Sanctuary, or The Open Door, I invite you to pray
for The Open Door, love The Open Door, celebrate God's work through The Open
Door, and even consider being a part of that worshiping congregation....or even
a team leader. The Open Door is one of the key ways we reach out and serve...as
a missional community.
There are all kinds of things you
could say about Jesus, but one thing that is certainly true is that he was
always going to people...where they were. And as his people, this is exactly
what we should be doing...going out...to God's people...where they are!
In Christ and for Christ,
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