Contagion

There are a lot of hurting people in our church's. If going to church makes them feel like they belong and pumps them up & sends them back into the real mission field - work etc., why not.
Interesting that you have all this 'tech'stuff and funny video clips etc... what do you think that is going to do for people depress them and make them not want to come back? Interesting.

ahhh...see...I never said "If it sends people back into the real mission field....cut it" what I said is that if it ends at making Christian people feel pumped up and good about themselves...it needs to be cut"

See the difference?

No difference to me.If you feel pumped and good about yourself I honestly feel that you will want to share that with others so they can experience the same thing.

How do you want your church aka: body of believers to feel about themselves?

The Church is a body of believers (Any Body).
When you take that into the context of the Church (not a building with believers in it) your statement is way off base.
Believers are to get together and encourage one another, support each other, the whole goal is to come away feeling better about your faith and more excited about Christ’s love for you.
What about youth conventions, seminars, conferences, the whole goal is to get the church pumped up about their mission. You can’t tell me that we should throw all this out. What about support groups, care groups, leadership teams, these are all meetings of the Church, not necessarily in the church building but meetings of the body, why bother if they do not produce (pumped up) people that are excited about what God has done for them.
Imagine a church building that is all non-believer’s with no ‘Christians’ in it, how would anyone except the guy at the front be able to share the contagious love of Christ with the people in the seats, they need to see it right beside them, and all around them, Christians need a weekly time of refreshing. This does not mean there is no room for the seeker sensitive service, but there needs to be a ‘blending’ to meet the needs of the lost, they need to see what Christ’s love produces, or why should they bother with it.
You are correct that Christians need not come away feeling good about themselves, but feeling good that Christ’s love is sufficient for them, in return that is feeling good about themselves, self worth, if Christ cares, I should care about myself and others around me. So I take that back, you are off base with the comment that Christians shouldn’t come away feeling good about themselves.
Enough of this rant back.

Personally, I don't think it's our job to "cut" anything of the sort.
When Jesus said to Peter three times "If you love me, feed my sheep" I don't think he meant "and if you feel it's not working then just shut'er down".
The purpose of building Christians up is quite simply to build faith and encourage them to fulfill the Great Commission. So is it more advantageous to the Gospel to have healthy Christians or unhealthly ones?...No brainer!:)
Jesus told his first followers not to forsake meeting together regularly. He was obviously not saying that so they could pat each other on the back; he said it so they would encourage each other in their Christian walk so that all would bare fruit. And I just don't believe we're to judge that fruit with sweeping generalizations.
The call of the Pastor is to feed the flock. The flock are the followers of Christ...the church. Perhaps it's always going to be frustrating for the Evangelist to see the merits of the work of the Pastor, but they're both called by God.

My point is this, plain and simple: If it ends in people JUST feeling good about themselves...that's not good enough. Do I think that people can feel good about themselves and not live on the mission of Jesus every other day? Sure do...it's happening all over the place.

I see where you guys are coming from and I agree. I think church should be an extremely fun place to be. I think people should want to gather together. But from what I see happening all to often, that "good feeling" ends with them. It goes no further.

The comment about the "tech stuff and funny video clips" was funny because those funny video clips are a part of the sending process for our gas giveaway.

My bottom line is this: It's easy to get people pumped up...anyone can do it and lots are. Trust me...I love seeing people excited. But I love it more when I see people excited about the fact that they get where they fit in the mission of Jesus.

I think possibly we assume that just because we have people going to church, attending every kind of group that we have going on, etc that they are being sent. Sending is an intentional process...it doesn't just happen.

By the way, who are you guys?

So you're on a guide taking some people on a rafting trip and someone stops contributing to the whole thing and just decides to sit there and take in their surroundings while everyone else paddles their guts out trying to stay on course...

What do you do?

I think that if someone decides not to paddle you should politely ask them to help. If they don't, then you toss em over board and use them as a boat anchor or bait. Cause if they ain't paddling and helping the rest ot the people, their taking up a spot for someone who will paddle!!

Perhaps when you are tired, that person can pick up the paddle?

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I used that illustration in the context of a program/event (which was what the context of my post was in) so let's keep it in that context.

When you go on a rafting trip, there is a goal (or two): Make it to the end and be in one piece. Of course you are supposed to enjoy it but the rush is to say that you got to the end.

As a local church body (the believers, not the building) we have the choice of what we are going to do. If we are going to run with every program that has traditionally been run in churches or if we are going to be intentional about what 'we' are going to do.

I think a lot of stuff is started up with the best of intentions but it eventually goes off course. The intention is to stay on the mission of Christ, to pursue getting to the end of the river (connecting the disconnected to Jesus) but soon enough it happens. There is a fork in the river, the choice to go with a more relaxed route that is more about me than it is about others.

I'm not saying I'm outside of this tendency (I could be the worst) but it is a reality. Small groups getting closed off to outsiders (unintentionally). Sunday mornings become a breeding ground for fights regarding music, style of dress and the appropriateness of the pastors joke. (unintenionally)

It's just the way we seem to be (maybe 'we' should be more heavy on the "me" side)...it's comfortable living in the Christian ghetto where everything is about us.

And maybe I'm just sick of my own sick tendency to live my life for me. Staying hurt. Staying selfish....just because I can.

Maybe I'm done staying so focused on me that I use it as an excuse as to why I'm not playing an active role in connecting the disconnected to Jesus. Maybe I'm done with letting my pastor lead my friends to Jesus while I say "It's not my job"

Maybe that guy in the raft has been me for so long that I understand where people are when they are stuck in "me" mode. (I understand when someone is hurt that they need to heal...the key is they need to heal, not stay stuck there. As well, you can be hurt and still help out...whether it's by encouraging or what not)

Now that I'm a guide in a raft that has been entrusted to me, I want to stay on mission. Everything we do will actively play a role in our mission of connecting the disconnected to Jesus.

Once again...please sign your name!

I finally understand where you are coming from.

Does it matter who I am? You don't know me. But who knows, you may meet me in a movie theatre one day!