I read this next article during a break at the Catalyst Conference in October, 2006. It was by Gabe Lyons, founder of The Fermi Project. The article is entitled The Culture-Shaping Church, and continues this theme of the church being a counterculture for the common good. In this article Gabe tells the story of going to the Bahamas and seeing how Clint Kemp and New Providence Community Church were impacting their culture.
Clint shares how early on their church was attracting non-Christians through a seeker-sensitive approach, but he soon realized that "this model of church was not creating the kind of Christ-followers that could revolutionize the island." How's that for a goal! The article goes on to share some the ways they began shaping the culture.
It was around this same time that I heard someone ask the question, "If your church were to move out of your city, would anyone notice?" I think I lost sleep over this question. Neighborhood Church wasn't even in infancy at that point, but I knew right then and there that I never wanted that to be the case with our new church. I wanted our community to know us as good people who loved and were passionate about what they loved and were passionate about. I believed, and still believe, that as we committed ourselves through walking out the three journeys, we could see our culture impacted in a positive way through the gospel.
For a more in depth treatment on this subject, the Fermi Project has a free issue of Fermi Words, and the "short" for that issue is also by Gabe Lyons. It's titled Influencing Culture.
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