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Process Driven ChurchSometimes, when the topic of Christianity comes up, people will say, “I’m not very religious,” as if being a Christian is all about joining a church and becoming a “religious person.” This is a common perception of Christianity.
“Christianity is not a religion. It’s a relationship.” “You need to have a relationship with Jesus.”
I have seen this sort of encounter a number of times, even once on a trip to Mexico, where I was privileged to witness a young man being led to the Lord. My Spanish was not very good, but I’ll never forget the “closing” statement made by my Mexican Christian friend:
“Cristo es no religio… Cristo es persona!”
I didn’t need Spanish fluency to figure out that my friend was saying, “Christ is not a religion… Christ is a person!” To many who come from traditional “religious” backgrounds, the realization of this truth revolutionized how we view God and relate to him. Our Christianity is not about the label we have from the church we grew up in, or about “joining up” with some group of people with common beliefs. It is about our relationship with God in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus became man at the great cost of “emptying himself” (Phil 2:7) of his equality with God. He did this not just to pave the way to the cross, but also to model a sinless, perfect life for us to emulate. This “emptying” was in itself a great sacrifice for the Creator of the universe, and would have been so even if Jesus had not further sacrificed Himself by giving His life for us.
It is clear from Jesus’ ministry on earth that He was not interested in establishing a religion. He was hardest on the most religious people of His day, the Pharisees. Rather, Jesus was looking for disciples, those who could carry on His work after He was gone. So great was His emphasis on making disciples that He declared, in John 16:7, that “It’s better for you that I leave.”
So how does this translate to those of us who consider ourselves disciples of Jesus in our own communities here in 2010? And what should a “nonreligious church” look like? Over the years, the leadership of Community Covenant Church has struggled with these issues, and they greatly impact the way we function today. One of the ways we choose to express this is that we are a “process driven” rather than “event driven” church.
You may notice that we do not have “altar calls” here at CCC. In our view, the “event” of responding to an altar call is of less significance than the “process” that begins when we turn to Jesus. For many of us, that turning was in itself a process. I can point to several “events” in my own life that contributed to the process of becoming a disciple of Christ, and I hope there will be more. Some people can point to one dramatic conversion moment in their lives, that experience is not typical.
It is far more typical for God to place people and circumstances into our lives that invite us to turn toward Him. And that turn may not be 180 degrees in a moment. More commonly, we turn our lives over to God in an incremental fashion as our trust in Him grows with experience and relationship. And at CCC, we try to provide the catalysts for this type of change.
So while, on a typical Sunday morning, you won’t see an altar call, you might be offered some “homework,” something to work on in your personal life. Or you might be invited to a class on Growing, designed to help you grow spiritually as a disciple of Jesus. Or a Serving class, designed to help you find your place in the church. Or a care group like Griefshare or DivorceCare. Or practical help in a financial stewardship class like GoodSense. Or the opportunity to grow in rewarding relationships with other Christians through a small group. Or programs in many of the above categories for your kids to do the same.
That’s what it means to be “process driven.” You might call it:
“Changed Lives – On Purpose.”
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