Just a Question….

As I was talking to someone about NetChurch today I was asked this question:

"What’s so bad about the churches that are already out there that you have to go out doing something so different?"

I’ve heard the question before and I do have a very good answer to the question.  I’ll give you that later.  Today, though, I want to do something different.  I need new opinions.  I want to know what YOU think about the existing church.  I think every opinion is a valuable one.  I also believe that there is not really a wrong answer to the question.  So here it is:

1. Do you think that the church that we’ve cultivated over the past 50 or so years is effective in today’s society and culture?
2. If it’s not, then what one thing would you say needs to change about it without changing the strength of our message and reason for existing?

Comment away!  Give your opinion!  We need to know what people think about what is being done and where we need to go.  As long as we are willing to question then we have the capability to learn and grow.

This should be cool!

The Kindness of Others

I have to say this evening that I am often surprised by the kindness of people in such unexpected ways.  Tonight was one of our Vision Casting and Ministry Support dinners.  As I stood there talking about NetChurch and explaining the intricacies of this fantastic ministry to a wonderfully diverse group I was reminded of something:  The burn to respond to a living God has no boundaries.

The people at this meeting were young and old, different backgrounds, and probably even different base values.  The amazing thing is that a true vision always blasts through any differences we might have.  People of any culture or generation can come together when common truths are revealed.

Never let them tell you that you are too young or too old.  Simply let them know that you "are".  As long as you are, you are valuable.

Thank you to all the wonderful friends and kindred hearts we met tonight.  You are truly valuable.

The Reason We Need NetChurch

I was doing some study for our youth meeting tonight and ran across these pictures.  I’ve been a part of alot of churches that put stuff like this on the sign out front and I’ve even been the one that came up with the "catchy wording" that was so obviously ironic to me that I just knew that the rest of the world driving by was going to totally get it and rush through the doors!

Dude, what was I thinking……(He says as he scratches his chin)

It’s so easy to get ourselves enclosed within this "Christian" world cocoon that surrounds us with all of the "safe" things that we think God wants us to be involved in that we totally miss the big picture.  We are the weirdos!  In the eyes of an unchurched, unbelieving society we are the strangest, most misunderstood group there is!  If we keep communicating in ways that nobody but a 50 year christian theologian understands then the world will continue to turn it’s back.  And rightfully so.  I don’t listen to people that cannot communicate clearly.  Why should they listen to something that sounds like a joke to them?

It’s time to get rid of "christianeze".  We need to communicate in clear, simple dialog.  We don’t need any more words larger than our heads because it makes us look important to all the church members.

We also don’t really need pious statements on our car bumpers, but I’ll save that for another day…..

Another Week Starts

It’s Monday again.  Right now it seems like there is more to do than anyone has time for.  Here’s a quick update to explain where we are at this point:

• We have a Monday night gathering that meets in our home with around 12 people attending (not counting children).
• We have a Wednesday night youth gathering meeting here, also.  Somewhere around 12 – 15 youth come to that one.
• We are sponsored now by a larger church in Victoria, TX (something we’ve been praying about since the beginning).
• We have a vision casting/ fund raising dinner (a necessary evil….the fund raising part) scheduled for this Thursday night.
• We’re prepping the launch team for the first city wide gathering on September 11, 2005 (more news to come….stay tuned)
• We’re getting ready to branch off 3 new home churches in June.

At this point every week is such a whirlwind.  We’re reaching out to new people all the time while at the same moment we have to keep the total movement going forward.  You go back and forth between moments of total elation and moments of total, outright fear.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the "operations" of things.  So much to do, so little time.  We have to keep all the balls in the air or this thing will come to a grinding halt.  I think Rob Bell (Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI:  Check him out  http://www.mhbcmi.org/listen/index.php.  The dude is unreal!) says it best:

"You launch out to start a revolution and you find yourself mired in church incorporated!"

Today I really want to remember what God called us to do here.  We are doing this to change how people look at God, the world, and really "the church".  We’re trying to reach out to people that need hope and direction but are not willing to walk into another building with a steeple to find it.  We’re trying to give people a "real Christ", not just a bunch of stories from someone who tells you what you’ve been doing wrong all this time and never gives you a real way to fix it.

Mark Driscoll says in his book The Radical Reformission that "God’s mission is not to create a team of moral and decent people but rather to create a movement of holy loving missionaries who are comfortable and truthful around lost sinners and who, in this way, look fore like Jesus than most of his pastors do."

Today I need to remember that.

What This Is All About

Everyone wonders what NetChurch is.  Is it a church?  A website?  Some bizarre cult that showed up suddenly in South Texas?  If it is a church, why do we need another one?  What makes this different from anything else out there?

I could spend all of my time explaining it or I could let you experience it.  This blog was set up so that everyone can experience what a small band of believers with a huge vision is doing.  In real time.  As something bigger than any of us is born.  This is the reality of people stepping off the cliff and into the unknown in order to change the world we live in.  Why do something if it’s just going to look and feel like everything else?

So, here we are in the middle of April at the start of a new church.  A new way of doing things.  We’re launching out to start a revolution.  We want to speak a whole new language about God, the world, and how we fit into the big picture.

Maybe you’re looking for something new.  Maybe you’ve noticed that "the same ol’ thing" just isn’t cutting it for you anymore.  Maybe you want to find out about a real, non-hypocritical, living, breathing God knows you where you are and expects you to be you.  Maybe it’s time for NetChurch.

My name is Andy Moody.  I’m the lead pastor of a group of people ready to start a never ending journey.  We’ll take some time here to document what happens along the way.  How this church becomes a reality.  The ups and downs.  The great things and the pains.

Hope you’re ready.  This is gonna be quite a ride…….