tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post6780601102722146001..comments2023-05-14T07:51:18.017-05:00Comments on The Suburban Christian: From church competition to church collaborationAl Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407264726681695790noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-87831443737333136592007-10-15T00:12:00.000-05:002007-10-15T00:12:00.000-05:00It is very sad that the message of Jesus Christ is...It is very sad that the message of Jesus Christ is just a business. Churches are like stores, and they employ marketing experts to brand the church and its message. The message of Christ is the only thing that is getting lost all the time, as more and more scummy ministers drive around in expensive cars and live in mansions.Moby Dickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921345586805781063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-76213192834508858862007-10-12T11:02:00.000-05:002007-10-12T11:02:00.000-05:002e - You raise great questions/concerns. I'm not a...2e - You raise great questions/concerns. I'm not arguing for a return to the homogenous unit principle of intentionally making monocultural churches to reach particular monocultures. I would hope that local churches would still have healthy diversity (of ethnicity, socioeconomics, temperaments, etc.) within their congregations even as they pursue whatever particular ministries they are called to pursue.<BR/><BR/>I think the answer is something of a both/and rather than a dichotomized either/or. And "unity in diversity" captures that dialectical tension pretty well, or the diversity of 1 Cor 12 even as we affirm the oneness of the body.<BR/><BR/>One example that comes to mind is how InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has navigated the question of ethnic-specific or demographic-specific fellowship groups. There are good missional reasons why an IV chapter might be an Asian American-specific chapter or a black chapter - there are any number of people who for whatever reason would never connect with a predominantly white IV chapter. Same goes with affinity-specific ministries like Greek chapters for fraternity/sorority students, or athlete-specific small groups or whatever. At the same time, these affinity-specific groups need to be part of the larger community. So even though there might be multiethnic, Asian, black, Latino, Greek and grad student IV chapters at a university, they should also have a combined larger identity and shared fellowship, worship and service together as well.Al Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04407264726681695790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-43980068730859220722007-10-12T10:45:00.000-05:002007-10-12T10:45:00.000-05:00"some things to some people" This seems very pract..."some things to some people" <BR/><BR/>This seems very practical and necessary. One question I have is, "Does it do a disservice to the churchgoers in that they are no longer exposed to those who aren't like them?" That is, "Are they no longer forced to love within diversity (be it ethnic, social, economic, or otherwise) because they are all of the same kind?" Paul dealt with this sort of diversity between Jews and Gentiles in a number of his epistles and grounded his argument (for unity within diversity) in the necessity to love--the greatest commandment. Would we say today that it's okay for churches to specialize or focus in on the Jewish demographic, and let another church focus on the Gentile demographic? Would Paul say it's okay? Maybe I'm failing to make some necessary distinctions. If so, what are they?Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04279379658409014125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-58830303976969589652007-10-10T13:26:00.000-05:002007-10-10T13:26:00.000-05:00Yes, lots to ponder. This thought has risen in my ...Yes, lots to ponder. This thought has risen in my mind lately as well. I've heard our church called, or "branded," the place where the ex-Catholics go and where all the saved bartenders go.Dan Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14687464967788834090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-728869752564237532007-10-10T06:12:00.000-05:002007-10-10T06:12:00.000-05:00Excellent post and you make a good point about con...Excellent post and you make a good point about congregations seeing themselves as part of the body. Wow, what if congregations did this kind of thing, banded together to reach their communities. Lots of stuff to ponder here.Diannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08168170797649139322noreply@blogger.com