After a few days of adjusting back from Thai to California time, I resumed my church research part of my sabbatical. This morning I drove down to Bakersfield and attended Valley Bible Fellowship. They ranked third in growth among churches in the United States this last year and I wanted to see what the draw was. As many of the other churches I have attended on my sabbatical, their campus and church buildings were basic and versatile. Many were basic steel buildings. Being in a pastoral position, I often catch myself having a critical spirit when I attend other churches. I asked God for an open mind and the ability to learn some things He was up to in Bakersfield. As I took my seat in their auditorium and looked around, the first thing I noticed was the demographic of people attending. I noticed a lot of working class people. Some would say a "little rough around the edges" (bikers, those with tattoos, gang style clothing, etc.). I also noticed a high percentage of males around me which is a little unusual in a typical American church (about 65-70% female). The pastor wore jeans and a collared shirt and sat most of the time during his conversation style message. It was obvious that the pastor was very passionate about VBF being a hospital that cares for "sick" people. A category that we all fit in one way or another. VBF has started a satellite church in Vegas and two other cities (soon to be 3). I've heard powerful stories of the ministry that the Vegas church has with prostitutes. I walked away from the service still trying to figure out why they draw the kind of crowd they do, but at the same time thinking, "this looks a lot like Jesus to me". Jesus' ministry was messy and most of the time it wasn't aimed at the upper/middle class professionals. What would it look like if NC became messy? What if we were intentional about loving homosexuals, homeless, unwed mothers, drunkards, and ex-cons? How would the majority of our church family react? Would they leave and go someplace "comfortable"? Yet, I wonder if Jesus really wants us to be "comfortable". I absolutely love our partnership with Houston school, yet on our recent church survey there were a few (a small number) of people that highly disagreed with our desire to make an impact in our community. "We should focus more on ourselves", they said. What do you think about that? I'm excited about what God has already started at NC, but also long for the day that as a church family our heart would beat collectively and passionately for the "sinners" that Jesus spent so much time loving.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
A Church Visit to Bakersfield
After a few days of adjusting back from Thai to California time, I resumed my church research part of my sabbatical. This morning I drove down to Bakersfield and attended Valley Bible Fellowship. They ranked third in growth among churches in the United States this last year and I wanted to see what the draw was. As many of the other churches I have attended on my sabbatical, their campus and church buildings were basic and versatile. Many were basic steel buildings. Being in a pastoral position, I often catch myself having a critical spirit when I attend other churches. I asked God for an open mind and the ability to learn some things He was up to in Bakersfield. As I took my seat in their auditorium and looked around, the first thing I noticed was the demographic of people attending. I noticed a lot of working class people. Some would say a "little rough around the edges" (bikers, those with tattoos, gang style clothing, etc.). I also noticed a high percentage of males around me which is a little unusual in a typical American church (about 65-70% female). The pastor wore jeans and a collared shirt and sat most of the time during his conversation style message. It was obvious that the pastor was very passionate about VBF being a hospital that cares for "sick" people. A category that we all fit in one way or another. VBF has started a satellite church in Vegas and two other cities (soon to be 3). I've heard powerful stories of the ministry that the Vegas church has with prostitutes. I walked away from the service still trying to figure out why they draw the kind of crowd they do, but at the same time thinking, "this looks a lot like Jesus to me". Jesus' ministry was messy and most of the time it wasn't aimed at the upper/middle class professionals. What would it look like if NC became messy? What if we were intentional about loving homosexuals, homeless, unwed mothers, drunkards, and ex-cons? How would the majority of our church family react? Would they leave and go someplace "comfortable"? Yet, I wonder if Jesus really wants us to be "comfortable". I absolutely love our partnership with Houston school, yet on our recent church survey there were a few (a small number) of people that highly disagreed with our desire to make an impact in our community. "We should focus more on ourselves", they said. What do you think about that? I'm excited about what God has already started at NC, but also long for the day that as a church family our heart would beat collectively and passionately for the "sinners" that Jesus spent so much time loving.
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