It’s all about relationships, baby!
After taking a few days to process the whirlwind experience that was Atlanta last weekend (did I mention that we traveled a total of 6 miles in 1 1/2 hours on the drive home? Gotta love drivers in Georgia!), I’m excited about the potential adopting the North Point model brings to us at Sonlife/Southside.
I’ve heard people say for years, “Church is about people, not programs.” Then the very leaders who say those things fill their church calendars with program after program, trying to compete with all of the other events in people’s lives. If you really think church is about people, not programs, then your church calendar should show it. It should show that you’re allowing your people to get involved with other people in their everyday lives, not just showing up at the church building for another event that is supposed to entertain them or give them some type of spiritual high while doing neither at the same time.
That’s what has drawn us to Sonlife/Southside. It definitely wasn’t the music. The Sunday we visited was a transitional Sunday, and it showed. I think our music has come a long way in the 10 months we’ve attended.
It wasn’t the preaching. Frank’s good, but he’s no Andy Stanley (few are).
It was their emphasis on relationships. That and the fact that Frank bugged us for about two weeks to come visit us again. But the harassing phone calls in the middle of the night was not the real reason…promise! 8{)}
One of the catch-phrases at Sonlife/Southside is that we’re “People in a process…” none of us has it all together and we have to rely on God’s grace and the involvement of the Body for us to become more and more like Christ. We’re iron sharpening iron – which is painful for the iron sometimes, but beneficial in the end. That’s why there is such a large emphasis on Community Groups (small groups…flocks…whatever you want to call them) and LTG accountability groups. It gets people face to face to go through the process together
A catch-phrase I heard at North Point a lot was “Doing life together.” It’s along the same lines as Sonlife/Southside’s. Definitely the same emphasis. Since the church is people (not programs), our energy and focus should be geared towards people and encouraging those relationships. It’s not about the staff ministering to the congregation but about the entire community of believers ministering to each other. It’s not about inviting people to church so they can hear the gospel. Most of the time, the unchurched will have already seen the gospel because they are rubbing elbows with believers in their everyday lives. That is exciting. That is a church I want to call home!
That’s a church I am already calling home in so many ways. I don’t think we’re going to have to do that many changes to what we’re already doing (other than in children’s, which we need to revamp anyway). There’s some refining that will have to take place. Some of it will take time, I think. I believe it’s worth it.
I’m curious to see how the videos will be received here in the Tri-Cities, though.
In the end, it’s all about mobilizing believers to be salt and light within their circles of influence. Or, as Dr. Jones likes to say, “It’s about relationships, relationships, relationships.”
I think whatever fine-tuning is required will help us make even more of an impact on our neighborhoods!
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