Here’s a Novel Idea: A Church for the Unchurched

A big part of the dream for Imagine Church is to create a church that unchurched people would love to attend.

You know what will be our biggest opposition?  We will have to fight the pull toward becoming a church for church people.  Don’t get me wrong; we welcome church people.  Most of us who are in the Imagine Church movement come from a church background.  For some, their past church experience has been a difficult one.  They’ve seen churches where the members talk about grace, and sing about how “amazing” it is, but what they found was a graceless culture where only those who play by the rules, or fit a certain pattern, feel welcomed.

That’s why we’re glad to discover the fresh, simple approach of Imagine Church.  God has seen fit to bless us with the responsibility to ensure that the twenty-first century church is a place where all kinds of people with all kinds of stuff can gather in Jesus’ name and find restoration, acceptance, and grace.  We believe that we are called to be stewards of the church of the coming generations.

Fortunately, we’re not the first generation of church leaders to wrestle with the question of “just who is the church for?”  The first-century church was forced to deal with this head-on.  The defining moment is recorded in Acts 15.  The earliest followers of the resurrected Christ were primarily Jews.  But soon a few of Jesus’ original disciples began preaching to Gentile audiences, and everywhere they went, Gentiles believed.  These new believers formed new Jesus gatherings.  It’s easy to understand why first-century Jewish Jesus-followers felt uneasy with this sudden influx of non-Jewish outsiders.  Actually, it was worse than uneasy.  “Offended” was probably a better word. Gentiles brought their Gentile customs, habits, and values along with them.  It was a tough situation!

The easiest solution was to require Gentile Christians to become Jewish.  Just give ’em a list!  Now, if becoming a convert to Judaism was as simple as learning a little about Jewish scripture and theology, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.  Unfortunately for the men, it meant much more.  It meant surgery.  If you think membership standards in your church are high, think again!  The most ardent supporters of the Jewish-first group taught the following:  “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).

To resolve the conflict, the early church leaders convened a council in Jerusalem.  After all had spoken their piece, James, the brother of Jesus, the most influential church leader in Jerusalem, stood to speak.  We still remember what he said:  “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God” (Acts 15:19).

Isn’t that a great statement?  I believe that should be the benchmark by which all decisions are made in the church even today.  In other words, churches shouldn’t do anything that makes it unnecessarily difficult for people who are turning to God.  No one had to become Jewish in order to become a Christian.  Gentiles could simply place their faith in a risen Messiah and be adopted into the family of God along with their Jewish brothers and sisters.  It was just that simple.

Unfortunately it didn’t stay that way. It never does, if you know church history.  It seems there has always been a gravitational pull drawing the church back in the direction of graceless religion and legalism.  It disguises itself in a lot of different forms, but the message is basically the same:  “The church is for church people.”

That’s why what we’re endeavoring to do through Imagine Church is so critically important.  We’ve all seen what happens with the drift toward churchy, graceless, lifeless church.  It’s our responsibility to lead the church in the direction that Jesus originally intended. It’s why I like to refer to Imagine Church as a movement or a gathering.  We are a people in process; a place where the curious, the unconvinced, the skeptical, the used-to-believe, and the broken — as well as the committed, informed, and sold-out come together around the New Testament proclamation that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, and on the rock of faith has he established his church.

We all know the hymn, “Just As I Am.”  We’ve sung it for decades.  But the song that captures the transparency, the restoration, and the hope of generations of adults and young people that describes the kind of movement I long for Imagine Church to be, is the song by Michael Gungor entitled “Beautiful Things.”

All around / hope is springing up from this old ground / Out of chaos life is being found in You / You make beautiful things / You make beautiful things out of the dust / You make beautiful things / You make beautiful things out of us.

Let’s get out there and do what Jesus died to make possible.  Let’s heed James’ advice.  Let’s get rid of anything that makes it difficult for those who are turning to God.  Let’s proclaim God’s liberating truth.  Let’s be the church.