Session #5: Rock Daddy

1. The Chambersburg First COG, by the virtue that it is a church, challenges the culture on a daily basis, our culture is one of no absolute truth yet that is what we profess. I know that based on the age range of my congregation there are people who continually question what the culture is doing, especially the youth of the culture. And finally, unfortunately we as the church often critique and look down upon the culture which only causes us to isolate ourselves that much more.

2. If we use the church at Antioch as our NT missional model, we can see that they were in a cross-cultural environment in the fact that both Jews and Gentiles were members. They definitely had an open mind or else they would not have allowed the Gentiles to worship with them. Paul, being the main driver for this church, continually referred back to the gospel of Jesus which was revealed to him on his journey to Damascus. In Acts we read that the believers were praising God on a regular basis (Acts 2:47, NIV). We also see in Acts how the people of the town, specifically the Jews, often stirred up the leaders against Paul and Barnabas, thereby causing them to not become too comfortable. However, in light of this many believed and were added to their numbers. All in all I would say that Hendricks' six points match up very nicely with the church at Antioch.

3. While in Iraq, I had the opportunity to attend the Gospel service one Sunday. A pastor friend of mine was the preacher, which is why I originally went, however, it was because of what I experienced that made me come back over and over again. We met in an old auditorium, so as you walked in you were at the top of the auditorium and had to walk down to the front. As soon as you entered you felt a sense of peace and love come over you. Everyone, no matter what rank or race, treated you like they had known you for ever and they loved to greet each other with hugs. Once the service started everyone there was focused on praising Jesus and giving him the glory. Due to the fact that we were all in uniform, eliminated the issue of pride over our clothes. Because the Army provided for all our needs we didn't collect an offering and so no one was worried about not giving too much or not enough. When people, myself included, got up to give their testimonies or offer some words of encouragement, you could tell that you were connecting with someone that day and that the Spirit had been apart of it and was there with you. Even though services were slated for an hour it was not unusual for us to go over on a regular basis. When you left you were truly refreshed and refilled and ready for whatever lay ahead for the coming week. I loved it very much and hope to be able to do something similar.

4. I think the Traditional model is based on the Jewish system of hierarchy and was thought as being beneficial considering, not many people were educated enough to read or understand the Bible. The Renewalist model came about because people began to get smarter and could now read and understand the Bible, so as a revolt, they no longer wanted to be told what to do, but rather tell those in charge what to do. However, in both models someone is always on top and someone is always on the bottom. In the Mission model both the congregation and the pastor are working together to influence the world. There is still a focal point, but this is merely there as a way of focusing the energy into on spot so as to have the greatest impact. Much in the way you focus sunlight through a magnifying glass in order to catch kindling on fire.

5. The only thing I disagree with is the shift from being clergy dominated to being laity oriented. I agree that more people in the church need to become more involved and not just at church but, everywhere they go and interact with non believers. How can we as Christians receive the gift of salvation and then sit idly by and not tell others? The point I don't agree upon is doing away with clergy. I think you still need to have someone who has been schooled, so as to provide credit to the work of the church. Unfortunately, people still look at titles or degrees as a basis for trusting or believing what someone has to say.

6. The group of people who meet on a regular basis, of being of like mind, in that they believe that Jesus was God's son, died on the cross, was buried and rose on the third day and also that the Bible is the living word of God, will hereby be called "the church" and will take to heart the Great Commission as set about in Matt 28:19-20. Though they are called "the church" they will in fact have no specific structure in which they meet. They will instead meet in places throughout town so as to cause non-believers to become curious about what they are doing and want to join. They will continually fellowship, pray, praise and break bread in order to deepen their sense of community, all the while encouraging and helping each other. In essence no matter where they are or what they are doing others will see "the church" in their deeds and actions.