Why I started new church
WHY start a new church when there are already so many around???
I have several reasons for that...
While yes, there ARE a lot of churches in this area already, there are NOT a lot of churches that people of my generation are feeling connected to (I am in the under 30 crowd). Its not that there is anything wrong with the churches that already exist, I just get the feeling that my generation wants to "do" church differently. We just don't feel connected. I'm not sure I can really explain the details of why... Its just the way it is.
So in my conversations with good friends, strangers, family, and pets (my golden retriever often shares her thoughts on unconditional love and being fed on time), I realized there are young people out there who believe in God and want to DO something about. Its a stereotype that young adults have no faith. Its just that we don't go to church. Notice I said, "Do" something about it. They are uncomfortable sitting in a pew on Sunday morning because, well, they are uncomfortable sitting in one place anywhere...and we hate getting up on Sunday morning. We also want to be on the move. A lot.
We want our faith to mean we are making a change in the world.
We want our faith to be connected to all we do.
We want it to be relevant, not an idea that we don't really understand.
We want the songs we sing at church to be relevant and ones we know and can relate to.
We want to be meeting new people all the time.
We want to know we can be Christian without the belief that people who believe something else are wrong or going to hell.
We want to know its ok if we don't believe in hell.
We might want to read the Bible, but maybe not in the same way. Yes, it has a lot of wisdom and amazing stories of faith, but do we have to be so literal about it? We want the space to ask "what if Jesus was misquoted?" Did the flood REALLY happen? Was Jesus really born from a virgin??? How can I read the creation story without the assumption that God really created the entire world in 7 days? Can we use other sources other than the Bible all the time? Can I come to church, looking different, knowing my partner and I are gay, black, white, poor, unkept, and still be accepted and not judged? Do I have to wear dress up clothes? Do I have to know how to look up stuff in the Bible? How do I know which door to walk in? How do I know what to do? Who I can talk to without feeling stupid? Do I have to put something in the offering plate? Do people think I'm stupid because I don't know anything about the Bible?
I want to be a part of something that moves me. But I want to understand it. To talk about it. And to go out into the world and do something with it.
Anyone with me? Lets redefine church together.
Pastor Red
I have several reasons for that...
While yes, there ARE a lot of churches in this area already, there are NOT a lot of churches that people of my generation are feeling connected to (I am in the under 30 crowd). Its not that there is anything wrong with the churches that already exist, I just get the feeling that my generation wants to "do" church differently. We just don't feel connected. I'm not sure I can really explain the details of why... Its just the way it is.
So in my conversations with good friends, strangers, family, and pets (my golden retriever often shares her thoughts on unconditional love and being fed on time), I realized there are young people out there who believe in God and want to DO something about. Its a stereotype that young adults have no faith. Its just that we don't go to church. Notice I said, "Do" something about it. They are uncomfortable sitting in a pew on Sunday morning because, well, they are uncomfortable sitting in one place anywhere...and we hate getting up on Sunday morning. We also want to be on the move. A lot.
We want our faith to mean we are making a change in the world.
We want our faith to be connected to all we do.
We want it to be relevant, not an idea that we don't really understand.
We want the songs we sing at church to be relevant and ones we know and can relate to.
We want to be meeting new people all the time.
We want to know we can be Christian without the belief that people who believe something else are wrong or going to hell.
We want to know its ok if we don't believe in hell.
We might want to read the Bible, but maybe not in the same way. Yes, it has a lot of wisdom and amazing stories of faith, but do we have to be so literal about it? We want the space to ask "what if Jesus was misquoted?" Did the flood REALLY happen? Was Jesus really born from a virgin??? How can I read the creation story without the assumption that God really created the entire world in 7 days? Can we use other sources other than the Bible all the time? Can I come to church, looking different, knowing my partner and I are gay, black, white, poor, unkept, and still be accepted and not judged? Do I have to wear dress up clothes? Do I have to know how to look up stuff in the Bible? How do I know which door to walk in? How do I know what to do? Who I can talk to without feeling stupid? Do I have to put something in the offering plate? Do people think I'm stupid because I don't know anything about the Bible?
I want to be a part of something that moves me. But I want to understand it. To talk about it. And to go out into the world and do something with it.
Anyone with me? Lets redefine church together.
Pastor Red
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