Getting Out of The Church Box

I have to admit … I am a concrete thinker. My tendency is to think in terms of things that are well established, things that can be counted on … a sure thing … that is my box. I like the routine, consistent, repetitive and habitual … (and that may surprise those that think of me as someone who is always changing things).

However, sometimes I am forced to “think outside of the box”, to think in terms of what could be and how that would come about. Those moments come when it becomes apparent that the same old practice produces the same old results (or no results at all), but a differing result is desired.

What is your box? For some of us it just may be the church. You get comfortable thinking of the church in a particular way. When you think of church, you have a certain well-defined set of expectations that may go all the way back to childhood. It is just the way things work at church. Here are some examples:

1. Publicity gets people to church;

2. Growing churches host outreach events;

3. Lost people’s first contact with the church is Sunday worship.

However, maybe it is time to not only think outside of the box, but to get out of the box. God’s design is not for us to wait at the church for lost people to show up there, but to go out into the workplace, our neighborhoods,

schools and shopping spots to strike up relationships where God can use our unique blend of personality, gifts,

and interests to be Jesus in their lives. It’s time to get out of the box.