What's Church Look Like To You?

There are a lot of hot button topics in the church today. Social justice issues. Women in leadership/teaching. The place of politics. Consistent ethic of life. And the list goes on, but there maybe no hotter topic that figuring out what the church is? Or what should the church be/do? Or what does the church look like? Or what is it's role in culture and world? All are really good questions.

Today just flipping through some of my bloglines, I found this string of posts in the cyberworld about this very issue. I thought I'd share them with you to so as to get us to think to yourself, wonder outloud, listen to each other, and ask God to give us his light and wisdom on the subject. I do NOT share this with you to cement you in your present thinking or to entrench you further in your current position ecclesiology or institutional dogma.

I simply want to think about things that are near and dear the heart of God and hear what He has to say to you about this.

Found this on subversive1 by Keith Giles:

1- Giving 100% of our money to the poor
2- Love for one another
3- Love for others
4- Making disciples
5- Serving others
6-Encouraging one another
7-Knowing and using our spiritual gifts to bless one another
8-Sharing meals together
9-Learning to be the family of God

Which lead to this one at 9Marks by Mark Dever:

1. Expositional preacheing
2. Biblical theology
3. Biblical understanding of the Good News
4. Biblical understanding of conversion
5. Biblical understanding of evangelism
6. Biblical understanding of membership
7. Biblical church discipline
8. Promotion of church discipleship and growth
9. Biblical understanding of leadership

That makes me think about these thoughts/quotes about recalibrating concepts of church at man.of.depravity:

1. “So much of church is creating a sub-cultural bubble but not engaging with culture.” Dan Kimball
2. “Everything has to be mission. There is a heaven and there is a hell.” Dan Kimball
3. “Organic church life is not native to this planet. It began before time in the Godhead.” Frank Viola
4. The winning of souls is not the end it is the beginning.
5. “Leadership is not just something that someone brings into a room and accomplishes.” Mary Kate Morse
6. “Most churches teach that the church is a living organism, but in my experience it is pious rhetoric.” Frank Viola
7. “We need to do ministry to the body and be missional to the world.” Len Sweet
8. “If the cutting edge is not Jesus Christ, you are chasing trees that have no squirrels.” Frank Viola
9. “God does not exist in order for people to be saved.” Frank Viola

So these thougths and insights beg the question, "What do you think, feel, and believe?"