The below is a Gospel Life Course taught during May 2018 at CrossWay Community Church.
Week 1 — Introduction, Identity, & Mission
May 6th, 2018
Week 2 — Cultivation, pt. 1
May 13th, 2018
Week 3 — Cultivation, pt. 2
May 20th, 2018
Week 4 — Cultivation, pt. 3
May 27th, 2018
The Church: Myths and Misconceptions (Part 1)
South City Church
July 30, 2017
The Church: Myths and Misconceptions (Part 2)
South City Church
August 6, 2017
These sermons are a part of a series on the foundational principles of South City Church’s philosophy of ministry. See all content from this series.
The following is an excerpt from my sermon The Church: Myths and Misconceptions (Part 1) delivered at South City Church, 7.30.17.
The Biblical reason we join and are a part of a church isn’t because a particular church offers the “goods and services” we want and like — making the church into something like a business, and us into its customers or consumers. The church is a people, a community. And the reason we join and are a part of this church community is for the sake of advancing our collective Christian mission — together.
When we become consumers, church becomes about “what I get out of it.” And when that happens, what determines “how I chose to do church” (or, as we might say, where I choose to “go to church” — as if church is something you “go to”) is what suits my preferences, what I like, or what meets my perceived needs.
In such a model, the church becomes a place where I come to be served. The pastors and the staff are the ones who do the ministry (rather than everyone). “It’s their job. They’re the ministers,” we say. “My job is to receive and be served.”
Kirk E. Miller 