How To Have A Church for Critics, Skeptics and Seekers:
Post date: Sep 18, 2014 5:34:23 PM
“We don’t want to have a church for ourselves, but for people who don’t like church.” - Timothy Keller's. I am convinced that a church should have a leadership/ philosophy of ministry that does not assume that their audience will simply accept his claims, position or interpretation or make false assumptions about what their audience knows about the Bible or particular passage or take for granted that everyone who goes to church grew up in a Christian home. From my experience, these types of churches are rare. Here is a list of some of these “apologeitc or skeptic” churches who's leadership strive to give historical, philosophical, and scientific reasons for the Christian worldview and who's pastors have a basic knowledge of philosophy, hermeneutics, theology and apologetics or at the very least understand the importance of having this training in their church.
For an argument of why pastors ought to be apologists see http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/why-pastors-ought-to-be-apologists written by J. Warner Wallace (cold case homicide detective, pastor, author, speaker, apologist) and my paper: An Argument for A New Reformation at https://sites.google.com/site/worldviewcafe/why-worldview-caf-the-need-for-apologetics/an-argument-for-a-new-reformation
1) Real Life Church
http://www.reallifechurch.org/connect/life-groups
a) J. Warner Wallace explains this unique church that's in Santa Clarita: “Here in Southern California (unlike many regions in the South), the population is still largely unchurched and untraditional in its approach to Christianity. This is the land of non-denominational churches designed for those who think church is irrelevant. Real Life is an excellent example of a body of believers committed to those who are new to Christian theism. Rusty reminded me early on: his congregation is filled with many new believers. With a group like this, we can’t assume they understand all the Christianese, theological terminology or Church History. We, as church leaders and teachers, are here to teach them these concepts and facts for the first time and repeat this instruction often. Real Life is a place where unchurched people can come and enter into Christendom in a way they’ll understand, with people to whom they can relate...You might think it odd a church this focused on the lost would insert a speaker in their line-up to teach Church history, textual analyses and apologetics. That’s the great thing about Real Life: they get it. They understand the importance of worshiping God with more than just our songs, and they recognize the connection between belief THAT and belief IN...”
Read more of J. Warner Wallace's review about this church here: http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/three-ways-large-churches-can-effectively-reach-the-lost/
b) They have two types of Life Groups:
“You can START a new group with some family, friends, neighbors, co-workers etc. who attend RLC - or maybe don’t even attend church but are willing and open to discussions about God. We will give you all the materials and training necessary to start a new group.
Or, you can JOIN a group and get to know other folks from your area. We do our best to place first-time folks in groups together so everyone starts from the same place. Most groups are a mix of married people, single people, divorced people, couples with kids, couples without kids, and members range in age from 20’s to retired.”
2) Redeemer Church:
www.redeemer.com/visit/who_are_we
a) Timothy Keller is an Christian apologist, author, speaker, and the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. His philosophy of ministry is a great example of how a church can incorporate apologetics. He states: "We don’t want to have a church for ourselves, but for people who don’t like church...The gospel of Jesus Christ is a big enough idea to try to get your mind around; we don’t want to add the additional burden of insider language, tasteless music or impenetrable rituals. We try to explain what we’re about to do throughout the service and to always bring what we say and do back to Jesus. After all, unless you have come to accept that Jesus is who he says he is — God himself come to restore and reclaim his broken people — then why should you care about Christian opinions about this or that secondary issue ”
1. Furthermore, his church addresses those skeptics that we mentioned earlier. Keller, unlike most pastors/ Bible teachers, does not assume that their audience will simply accept his claims, position or interpretation or make false assumptions about what their audience knows about the Bible or particular passage or take for granted that everyone who goes to church grew up in a Christian home. In fact, skeptics are welcomed:
“We recognize that belief is hard and that it is worth acknowledging and wrestling with the questions, doubts, objections and skepticism around the Christian faith. We welcome both believers and skeptics to process their doubts and beliefs with the recognition that it is not sufficient to hold doubts or beliefs just because we inherited them. If you are interested in processing your doubts and beliefs or exploring Christianity, we welcome you to visit us on Sundays, at one of our events, or in one of our discussion groups.”
2. His church offers three opportunities or venues for skeptics:
They can (1) visit a Questioning Christianity Group- “Are you someone exploring Christianity? Join an eight-week small group discussion for seekers, skeptics and those who don’t consider themselves Christian... They will explore topics found in Tim’s book, The Reason For God. Topics include the problem of evil, science and faith and the exclusivity of Christianity, the history of the church and Christians, and the credibility of the Bible.”
(2) visit a worship service - “We would love to hear your questions. There are church officers available after each worship service on Sundays to hear your objections, help process questions together, or connect you with resources in our church.” or (3) attend forums and events- “Theology on Tap is a gathering for anyone who is wrestling with belief in God in general or the claims of Christianity. We meet at local bars where those with questions hang out over beers and hear a short talk which is followed by a Q&A. Past topics have covered questions such as “Isn’t the resurrection just a myth?” “Why would a loving God send people to hell?” and “Why is there suffering and evil in the world?”
b) they have three types of Community Groups:
“It is here where individuals are most known and cared for in community. We offer regular Community Groups, Questioning Christianity Groups for those who are skeptical or curious about Christianity, and Beta Groups for those who want to try a group out with a short-term commitment.”
3) Liquid Church
a) Liquid’s lead pastor, Tim Lucas, recently taught a series of messages making the case for the reliability of the Bible as a Christian apologist. You can read more about this church at: http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/lessons-in-evangelism-and-christian-case-making-from-the-life-of-roadies/#sthash.TcDMXLyl.dpuf
b) Their Life Groups are for people who are pursuing spiritual growth together in 3 major areas:
Knowing God - Growing in their personal relationship with God
Knowing Each - Other Developing and deepening friendships with each other
Serving the World - Reaching out to others beyond the group
“When a group first starts out, you will follow a study guide curriculum written by Pastor Tim & Tom that will be based on Liquid's Sunday messages. After that, your group will decide together what to study next from a list of approved curriculum... Groups are a great place to grow spiritually through relationships, but if you’re new to our church or investigating the Christian faith, we’d encourage you to check out our Starting Point 101 Class as well. Starting Point is a safe, conversational small group class where you can meet friends, ask questions and explore faith.”
* For a list of more churches see http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/why-pastors-ought-to-be-apologists