October 6, 2007 at 10:14amWhat should a church of Jesus Christ in the 21st century look like?

1. Is the current form of a church meeting in a building, with a program, on a weekend day or evening the only way? The best way?
2. Are size and numbers a good measure of a churches success?
3. How do we reach out to the community around us with the limited time, resources, and energy?
4. How do we grow as disciples in Christ, deal with the issues in our lives, and develop ministries without becoming inwardly focused?
5. If we could develop the perfect church for our lives what would it look like? Who would we pursue to join?
6. If we could do something “outside the box” what could it possibly look like? How do you get outside the box? Should you go outside the box? (My definition of the box is the typical church on Sunday mornings.)
7. How could you govern a new church? How does leadership function? How is vision developed and maintained? How do you allow for input? How do you exclude certain ideas, theologies and even ministries? (No church can do everything nor be all things to all people.)
As a church planter these are the kind of questions I am asking myself. They don't necessarily change my belief system but could definitely affect my practice of my beliefs.