A month ago I asked the question “What is the purpose of Church?” (http://www.brad.net.nz/blog/2009/06/what-is-the-purpose-of-church/) and at the end I stated that it was to be continued leaving the question “What does a city on a hill look like”?

I have been slow to continue it not just because I have been busy, but also because I have spent quite a lot of time thinking about it, and how to write down my various thoughts and views.

The question is derived from the well know verse of Matthew 5:14 NIV:

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Now the verse in question is talking about Christians and the Church and how it should appear to the world.

The full set of scripture reads (Matthew 5:13-17 NIV):

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Now it is clear (I hope) from the scripture that Jesus is talking about how Christians should act and behave in the world. And plenty of people have gone out and preached that you should live this perfect life to make your light shine. But I am actually not sure if that is really what I take from this.

You see the city on the hill bit still gets me, and like my views on the church I am not sure if the city on a hill looks as shinning clean as some people make out. I don’t believe that a city on a hill is filled with people in pure white robes and not a speck of dust is to be found. And if I ever came across a city that was like that then I would have to wonder what they were hiding, what did they want you not to see?

It is like those people who appear to have it all perfect on the outside but on the inside are the complete opposites of that, a complete mess. Even myself, on the outside I am really organised and take extreme pride in what I do, but when you get to know me you know that my personal stuff is a mess, like my room is never tidy and never something to be proud of.

In fact I would go so far to say that a city on a hill is the complete opposite to roads without dust, in fact I think in a true city on a hill the roads will be really dusty and dirty with the amount of people travelling from afar to visit it, to find solace in it.

It is like when you are travelling to any city and you see the lights of it in the distance, it always looks great to the first glimpse of the eye, but as you get closer you start to spot the flaws, the cracks in the pavement, the homeless on the park bench, the regular traffic jams. So what makes the city on a hill that Jesus describes so different from any other city?

Well I don’t actually believe it is entirely who we are or the things that we do that makes the city shine. But rather it is deeper than that. It comes down to how we live our life and how God shines his light out through us. The light of the city on the hill is not visible light but spiritual light. It is love. It is accepting people as they are, not judging, not criticising, but loving people. It is accepting people as they come, and showing them the love and the grace of God.

Now that is not to say that some of the things that they do are acceptable things, but first we must show them the love of God, you need to build bridges and relationships with people, not create a pit of lions that you must cross first before you can be considered good enough.

So the city on the hill is actually and very messy and dirty place, it is filled with people who are in need of love and forgiveness. It is like the emergency department at a hospital, chaos, but organised chaos. It is like the church. And the light shinning out of it is the spiritual light of those Christians who are caring for the needy, for the sick. Those Christians who are not donating to the neediest aid agency, but those who will actually get their hands stuck in, those who will actually put on the armour of God and take their place as a foot soldier, a medic, or a counsellor.

TobyMac puts it this way on his “Alive and Transported” album:

You see it’s not our words. Our words aren’t going to be which stops the world in its tracks. Our words will not change the world. They’ve heard it all.

It is not normally our music. Normally we make our music for us, for the body, so that we can sharpen each other, edify the body, glorify our god. Once in a while one crosses over but it’s not typically the music that is going to stop the world it its tracks. Our music is not going to change the world more than likely.

It’s not our buildings, as grand and beautiful as some of our church buildings are. It’s not the architecture, that’s going to change the world.

But I believe what will change the world, is when we begin to love each other, and when we begin to love the world, and when we begin to reach out to the orphans, and the widows, and the lower income families in our communities. When the world sees that kind of love, I’m talking about undeniable love, I believe they will stop in their tracks and say “Yo, whatever you people have over there. I want some of that baby, I want some of that right there for me”.

When our houses are packed so full of love that we have gotta open up the back door to let it ooze out into the valleys and the suburbs and the city streets. When the world sees that kind of love, real love, they’re going to stop in their tracks baby. They’re going to say “Whatever homy, homy, yo homy, whatever you people have over there you Jesus freaks, I want some of that man, I want some that Jesus for me man if it is doing all that.”

How many times have you heard someone actually say something like that? Why do we have to win people for God? Why aren’t they asking if they can come to church with us? Why are we the one inviting them, begging them? What makes church so unattractive? If those modern and megachurches are really so great then why are they (mostly) always struggling for money, or even if they are packed still packed with only Christians who have moved there from other churches? If they are so great then why is the rest of the community still not interested in attending? Why is church so unattractive in today’s world?

Maybe that will be the topic of the next blog on this subject. It is something that I am still wrestling with.

To worship G-d?
To have community?
To convert people G-d, save them from sin, etc, etc, etc?

All of the above?

You argue that “i want a church who is open minded yet not following the trend of the generation” and I agree.

But shouldn’t we be taking this one step further by saying that we should not be following the trend but in fact setting the trend?

If the purpose of church is just to worship G-d, then should we throw out the teaching and just have a giant two hour worship session? I would sure love it, but is the fact that we don’t do that on a regular basis suggestion that church is more than that?

If community is achieved through church then what is the purpose of small groups? Are small groups just an admission that most churches have become too large and the small group is a simple solution to keeping the masses happy? So is community really the purpose of church?

If it is to convert people to G-d then how successful are we at that?

What is the church offering that is any better than they can get at their local dance club on a Friday night, or at the opera performance at the town hall on the Saturday night?

You see the church is not one thing, or a static body. But rather it is meant to be a dynamic organism, with many people making up its various parts, performing many services with Christ at the core.

But what happens when the arm wants to go to the left and the leg wants to go to the right?

Is that grounds for splitting the church into two and getting yet another breakaway church?

Is there one true church? Is it the Roman Catholic Church, or Christian City Church?

Is G-d in the drums, or in the soft melody of a grand piano?

Does G-d reside in the building, or in the body of believers in the building?

I believe that the church should be on the forefront of everything.

For too long the church has lagged behind, has resisted, and as a result in this post-modern world has ended up being a relic of the unenlightened past.

So is it time for another enlightenment?

I think so.

No longer can we sit back and rely on advertising and word of mouth for getting people to attend on Sunday.

No longer can we be just another social service.

No longer can we resist the constantly changing world.

The world is not flat, yet many churches still act like the wheel has yet to be invented.

For the church to have relevance it must be different.

And not different because it is boring, but different because it must be radical different.

We need to bring back some witch trials…. That set us apart. (just joking).

No, what we need to be is on the forefront of the new media.

Take blogs for instance. What an opportunity missed.

Blogs have quickly turned into a mass media entity, but were founded in political commentary, and that is the focus of many still today.

What about viral videos… already taken, with people typically doing silly stuff.

You see as much as we don’t want to mindlessly following the next trend that comes along, we are not even that good, we are still stuck in the 1500s when it is the 2100s.

And yes I did just write 2100, we need a 2100 hundred mindset.

What is wrong with a bit of experimentation at church?

What is wrong with a bit of hip-hop thrown in the mix?

At the end of the day G-d gave us these talents and these abilities to use, so why are we not using the gifts that we have been given, why are we doubting and questioning everything?

And this brings me to music.

Oh music, probably one of the most controversial topics within church communities.

No you cannot possibly have an electric guitar, electric guitars are evil because they require electricity, and electricity is scary stuff, it involves science, and science is evil (just ask Galileo)

You know what. I want to see a turntable used in church. With the Westminster Abbey Boy Choir’s version of How Great Thou Art scratched up a little.

Why? Because I can. Because if it can get people in the door and worshiping G-d then it must be good?

Well not exactly.

But it is different. And we need that point of difference.

You see at the moment the church may be living, but it is not breathing, it is in the rest home on life support.

And while we continue to play the funeral marches every Sunday morning then it will get just that little bit closer to death. Jesus may have risen, but when will the church awaken?

You see this is what gets my back up the most.

Jesus was not this holier that thou person who 2000 years ago showed up to the local synagogue in a Gucci Suit, driving a Mercedes Donkey M5, and the value of his 20,000 sheep was known throughout the land.

In fact it was the opposite, born in a manger, not a nice clean little straw bed but a pigs-sty (maybe that can be the next excuse for my room looking like one, my room is just having the Jesus experience, amen).

He did not own many possessions in fact he advocated in a minimalist lifestyle, selling what you have, and serving the poor.

He wasn’t afraid to get his feet a little dirty, and a little dusty, but these days we must always wear our Sunday best, and mud well urgh.

He was the friend of tax-collectors, and prostitutes, something that even today we continue to have issues with.

He loved these people, but all we can seem to do today is hate on them.

The church is more known for spreading a message of labeling people sinners, rather than children of G-d, or people who G-d loves.

The key thing was Jesus was not afraid to be different, on the edge, and ruffle a few feathers, he certainly was not old and boring.

But today even the notion of adding a more upbeat song to the mix (or adding a slower song at some churches) will put half the church into revolt.

The church appears to be more concerned with closing the doors on the world from Monday to Saturday and opening them up for two hours on a Sunday to let people in, never to let the warmth of G-d’s love out (it may catch a cold).

And what gets me most is perfectionism.

G-d is perfect, and only G-d can make things perfect.

The church today is too concerned with putting on the correct face, for trying to make itself look like it is one notch above the rest.

Surely the church should be a place that is one notch below, full of people who are on the outside broken, but on the inside healed by G-d.

And that healing that starts on the inside can then begin to thaw the frozen outside.

Surely the purpose of church is to be a city on a hill.

A city not a building, letting light, warmth, and love out.

A point of difference in a darkened world.

Not just a building covered with so much dust that the light inside cannot escape.

And that leads onto the next topic what does a city on a hill look like?

To be continued….

Following on from my post on Christian videos a few days ago, I accidentally stumbled upon some from my own church.

There is a lot from my youth group here.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=momentumyouthchurch

And finally, I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, or what, but someone leaked video of me performing Weird Al’s White & Nerdy at church camp last year.