I Become All Things, To All Men……
This verse, of late, has bothered me. I will give you a bit of history first….
As you may or may not know, I am currently on staff at Crossroads Church and we are growing at an alarming rate. Our services are geared and are set up in such a way that they will be relevant to the unchurched. From the music being very modern, rocky and cutting edge, to the preaching being very non-Christian-eese and relevant.
We have geared these services knowing full well that our church isn’t for everyone. It just isn’t. If you came from a traditional church where YOU are the focus and where your Spirituality is spoon fed to you….you probably won’t like our church at all. And this is exactly what we are seeing. We are seeing people come from other churches that just don’t fit and cannot grasp what we are doing.
I have been OK with that and I have said to Pastor many times, “….hey, we just can’t be all things to all people….”
But when my mind would reference 1st Corinthians 9:22 which is quoted above, I would begin to have a problem with it.
I mean com’on God……how can we be all things to all people when the people in the world are so completely different from the people in the Traditional Church???? How can WE as the church make a safe, exciting and relevant place for the lost at the same time as making a place for the Traditions of Old?….do we have different services with different messages and music? How God, do we do this? How?
Then tonight, I HAD A BREAKTHROUGH thanks in large part to my Life Group.
When Paul wrote, “I am all things to all people….” he is saying that about the lost, NOT THE CHURCH.
He is not saying he becomes a pleaser of the churched so that the frumpy old religious folks can feel at home and be comfortable fulfilling thier weekly “duty” while getting their weekly spiritual meal…..
He is saying he will DO WHATEVER IT TAKES to win the lost. He becomes whatever it takes, uses whatever tool necessary, finds whatever is relevant to them to win them…….
THE LOST.
Do you get it?……I hope so!!!!!
~jfm3~
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February 19th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
AMEN! I struggled with this same verse in much the same way. The difference at Crossroads to where I (and I think probably you too, Joe) have been before is the lost (unchurched, whatever terminology we use) IS the focus. I count myself very fortunate to be in a place where the pastor (and the worship leader) get it. Too often, the churched among us only show up on Sunday to get filled and then head out the door until “required” to return next week. We really do have to be and do whatever it takes to get the lost…well…found!
God Bless my brother!
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:52 am
I would agree that the Apostle Paul was indeed speaking of the Lost; however I would disagree that he was not also speaking of the church. There are many scriptures about the unity of believers. One comes from a prayer that Jesus makes himself saying; ” 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they ALL MAY BE ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US: THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME.” John 17. When we are not all things to our fellow believers the Apostle Paul wrote that we are like unblievers. ” When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I prefer Apollos,” aren’t you acting like those who are not Christians?” 1st Corinth. 3:4. If we can’t become all things to all men including our brothers and sisters in christ how can we possibly ” bear one another’s burdens and thus fulfill the law of christ.”
June 9th, 2009 at 11:28 am
It always bothers me when I read about churches wanting to be “exciting” and “relevant”, since this is nowhere to be found in the Bible. Jesus established His church to be His witness and glorify the Father, not to provide excitement for its members. And the Word of God has always been relevant to any generation, so if a church is looking to be “relevant”, its focus is on pleasing the itching ears of the congregation or target audience, rather than focusing on the mission that Christ gave the church. I find it ironic that the author admits that the church he attends isn’t for everyone. If attempts to be cutting-edge and relevant knowingly keep people away, are you really fulfilling Christ’s mission?
June 9th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Steve, thanks for the reply!!
I can totally see where you are coming from and I can understand how not knowing the person writing the post can sometimes allow you to read into things that may not be there.
You are 100% correct, the Word is relevant, always. But that doesn’t mean the church is. Even when Jesus came, He was completely different from what the church of that time was.
I would ask you what the mission Christ gave the church was? Obviously I know the answer too…..but what if I told you we as a church are fulfilling the mission Christ gave us 50 times more than any other traditional church I have ever been on staff at?
What if we were reaching the lost for Christ and reaching out to our community and being a light in the darkness….AND were STILL exciting?
And when I said our church “isn’t for everyone” I wasn’t speaking of anyone in particular. In fact, we welcome everyone….the saved and the sinner. However, the fact is, it’s the saved people who are bound by their traditions and “what church is suppose to like” that have a problem with us.
When I said we aren’t the church for everyone, I was tip toeing around the fact that it is the Christians who have a problem with us, not the lost.
As Jesus said, we are not here for the healthy, but for the sick. The Healthy don’t need a doctor, the sick do.
I know Jesus loves us all,….but I think He is far more happy with a church body bringing in the lost, than the body that never steps foot outside their 4 walls.
June 9th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
By the way….I just tried to send Steve B an email and it was returned “undeliverable”
If you are going to post something, shouldn’t you at least leave a REAL email address?
Why do I get the feeling Steve B and Sam G are the same person? lol