For years, I’ve thought of my desire to do church planting as something that I would do after the kids moved out or in retirement. Part of this was because of the time commitment and the other was because of finances. But now that our kids are a bit older it seems that God is asking, “What are you waiting for?” It’s never going to be perfect, and thank God it’s not supposed to be, because He is.
I also like the biblical model of planting churches in homes that we see in the New Testament. The close connection of relationships is exactly what I think we need to combat the consumer culture that we see in many churches today. Church is not a coffee shop where you can get your taste of God flavored just the way you like, nor is it an event where we just show up, observe, and leave. Small home groups force us into relationships with people we may otherwise never cross and those relationships help to grow our compassion for others.
Besides, people are leaving traditional churches in droves. Whether it is because they are noticing hypocrisy or just aren’t satisfied with the level of entertainment, the fact of the matter is that we cannot compete with Netflix, the NFL, or the local movie theater for entertainment, nor should we want to. The glory of God is a far greater pleasure, but we are distracted and easily satisfied with lesser things.
So what’s stopping you? When was the last time you had a meal at a neighbor’s house? Do you even know who your neighbors are for any other reason than to complain about them? Guess what, they are made in the image and likeness of God and we can learn a lot about ourselves and our God by living in connections with them. So come, and invite your neighbor.