Have you ever noticed that the world is controlled often by powerful weaklings? I mean, people or systems that are so seeped in the wrong things, yet they often rise to the top, while most of us shake our heads and wonder why? We see this in education, politics, economics, religion, the corporate world...how do some of these people end up where they are leading...especially considering their poor grasp of what and whom they are leading? We all have noticed it from time to time. Some of us have just shrugged and reluctantly assumed, I guess that's the way it'll always be. This disconnect is more obvious...when we take time to notice...but most choose to just live on "hoping it'll go away"...and guess what, it doesn't! The same can and does happen in church circles. Religion is a place where the disconnect seems to scream the loudest. How can that be, people say? Surely God is not about all that, is He? We face an interesting time in church culture...the church has more Bible's in print, in a variety of reading levels & styles, than ever before...we have more Christian TV and radio than any time in history...we have more books, commentaries and resources...we have more seminary trained pastors than any time in church history...we have DVD's, computer programs, music galore, technology tools abound, and internet research & resources at our fingertips...yet with all this information...we reach fewer people than any time in church history? Huh? How can that be? Research shows the church in the midst of this information & resource boom, actually is less effective in reaching people than at any time in history. In many ways we've become powerful weaklings. A wagon train to no where. Leading people to who knows where? It's not a lack of knowledge or tools or resources. The church has more money than ever before, so that's not it either. It's not that there isn't enough churches (at least in the western world). But it may be an overflow from the Age of Reason, a time in history where human knowledge became glorified. Where the "rational" superceded. When science & information began to overshadow generations of common sense. Man began to glorify "his" knowledge as the most important thing. Man's "rational reason" superceded God's wisdom. Spirituality, the arts, & true community began to diminish in its influences. Yet for centuries the church flourished "before" the Age of Reason ushered in man centered "knowledge". Jesus handed the baton off to a ragtag bunch of fishermen & farmers, and guided by God's Spirit, the world has been changed, by them, forever. Their impact grew & grew & grew to impact millions upon millions in nations all around the world. And guess what? They did it without bibles, books, TV, radio, CD's, DVD's and the internet? Huh? How can that be? In our "rational" world we don't get that...yet that is the truth. As western Christianity has leaned more & more on the "rational side of the gospel" they have forgotten a key ingredient, one that was vital to the early church for centuries. That ingredient was the "relational side of the gospel". It's the "loving God & loving others" part of the gospel. Oh sure, the church has intellectually proposed this consistently, but has it lived it out? Let's be real practical here...how many churches do you know that "really live out loving others well"? Are we known as a group of people that really love Jesus AND love others in a noticeably different way that attracts? Whether we like to admit it or not, we have gravitated towards a belief that "if people just have the right information, bible verses, and solid teaching", then they will enter into relationship with God? Our churches function that way...our denominations function that way...our seminaries teach it that way...most believers live it out that way. But the result is, less and less people are being impacted. I suggest it's because we have strayed from a key component...the emphasis on the relational side of the gospel...out of your relationship with God flows a love & relationship with other people that will impact them and draw them toward God. The New Testament repeats this theme over and over...yet we so rarely live it out intentionally. I don't know about you, but I've been impacted more in my life by people who expressed Jesus to me in the way they loved me, forgave me, encouraged me, and helped me get up when I'd fallen. These people have impacted me far more than the sermons, books & worship songs I've come in contact with. Has God touched me from time to time through these things...of course...but not nearly to the degree of people who are "grace with skin on". Those people who love me & express grace as Jesus does...wow...now that has changed me. God has revealed so much to me through those people. I suspect the same for you too. At ECHO we want to be a people that are "grace with skin on"...the hands and feet of Jesus so to speak...after all He called us His body...so we who follow Him have been given the charge to represent Him to our spheres of relationship. We, at ECHO, are committed to learning to doing just that...living life with others...on a journey of faith. Does that mean the "rational gospel" of information & academia has no place? Of course not. But be careful, for "knowledge puffs up"...academia and ego often go hand in hand. It's often hard to serve humbly when you are convinced you are "right". You may win the "debate" but loose the "relationship". I would suggest, that out of relationships that truly, authentically and genuinely love and care for others...even in the midst of the crap of their life...that is where God enters in more often. And perhaps, as you & I have loved enough to have earned the right to heard...people may then be open to hearing what you "know". But information "without love is like a banging gong, a clanging cymbal (as the bible says)"...to put it bluntly...it's annoying! It's the (rational) gospel (without relationship) that deny's the power within it...so to speak. After all the bible is called God's Word...Jesus is the Word, the bible says, Who always was, even before time...so even the bible itself is all about a person, Jesus...the One who welcomes us into "relationship" with Him. The Bible isn't a book of rational words, facts & truths alone. It all points to the Word, Jesus, a person...and it invites us into "relationship" with Him & with each other, as God has intended. God is once again calling His followers to re-discover the simplicity of loving Him more & more...and learning to live a life of love towards others. That is something that you can't learn in a book...but you can learn, as you experience it with God & with others! At ECHO we want to create an atmosphere, that is conducive to people from all walks of life...so they may have an opportunity to do just that...be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO
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