'Radical' Thinking

Ok, lets clear something up. Radical does not mean a fashionable type of Christianity with lights, a smoke machine and punk youth leaders praying the Lords prayer in a Michael Cain voice. Radical means to go to the roots of something. If you were to get radical about a tree, you would look at the seeds and the way the tree grew from there. Seeds, roots and beginnings all speak of 'radical. 'If we were to get radical about Christianity, we need to go to the place where it all started.

With this in view, we are offering some radical thinking on the church and how we are to practice Christianity. in short, we are attempting to be true to what the Christians did at the time. If we take away the things that were added to the church over history, we find a church to be an altogether different thing than what we have today.
Organic Church
The biggest difference is the nature of the church. Somehow we've got all messed up with the mission. It's understandable really. This world is a dark place and God makes it clear that his heart is for the lost to return to him. Today, many take to the streets armed with the gospel message. They have been told that the lost respond to this message and accept Christ as their saviour. While that is true, it is not exactly what the New Testament says is the way people are switched on to God. A closer look at what Jesus said and what Paul wrote would reveal that it is changed people who change the world. At some point a gospel message will be shared, but firstly the gospel must have changed the individual. "The parable of the egg" shows this subtle shift in understanding clearly.
Christ like before Christ talk
So the transformation in our lives must first impact individuals before they want to know God by their own choice. then they will ask what the truth is about God. This seems clear and many would agree with this premise. However,
evangelistic mission and church gospel meetings cannot possibly work to this premise. Why? because the nature of both assume that a message is the key. If people are in continual relationship with others and their transformed lives are making an impact on the individual, why do they need a preacher to tell them about Jesus? Why cant the individual do this on site, in the mall, at the gym, in the workplace?
Ready for mission?
Ive done tons of street evangelism where I thrust leaflets in people's faces. At one stage we entered the arts and did drama. Although a little more entertaining, it still amounted to anonymous faces receiving just information. If the leaders in a church believe that the message alone is the means of salvation, they will gear all their comings and goings to having people spread a message. This is not a bad thing by any means. People do act upon information. But if the church geared itself to making sure people are built up and encouraged in the Lord, then maybe more people could have effected more people, not just confident, trained experts.
Christ, not mission centred
The New Testament speaks of a gathering called 'ekklesia.' It was based around a full meal where each was able to share openly with each other. For more information on the why's and whatfors of how the church became how it is today go to www.century1.co.uk This form of gathering supported by the writings of Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians Ch 14:26-40 especially, indicates that the radical, first Christians were more concerned about being Christ Centred before evangelism ever entered their heads.
What about.....
There are of course scriptures that seem to show that we are to go and simply spread a message. Jesus told his disciples to go and preach the gospel in all nations. We see this at the end of Marks gospel. These were Apostles. If you are an Apostle then nothing will stop you preaching in all nations. Also be aware that if this is the case, nothing will stop droves of lost people coming to the Lord wherever you preach. If you are preaching in the towns and city streets and people aren't coming to Jesus, you are simply annoying them. I know of big mission organizations that spend time, finance and resource producing elaborate gospel presentations. The result? little or no impact. If you aren't an Apostle then simply live life, be changed and witness to people when they ask. One bloke in Acts got someone baptised after explaining the scriptures to him. He was an evangelist and especially gifted in this area. There's also the instance where Peter preached to large crowds and loads got saved. If these were standard ways to get people saved, Paul and the other contributors to the New Testament would have made a very big deal out of it. What did they do? Instead of glorifying the few examples where people came to the Lord by a sermon, they wrote of what is was to be in Christ and encourage one another.

The disciples and Paul had seen Jesus, they had walked and talked with him. Paul was somewhere inactive for 14 years before doing and writing what he did. This doesn't mean don't do anything, its more of an appeal to honestly examine whether it is just a message that challenges people or a life lived with Christ as centre, being transformed daily.

Please, please, tell people about Jesus but make sure your church environment is authentic. It should be helping produce Christ centred transformation in your life, not a program of evangelistic events pushing Christian propaganda!!