sacred journeys

Great quote from a CT article on Starbucks & church — Burned by branding

“What is the church to learn? That’s what the comment section is for, but I’ll start with this thought. If the church is to be merely a dispenser of spiritual goods and advice, a place people pass through to get their religion fix, then we should follow the example of brand-driven corporate giants. But, if we hope to form meaningful communities of Christ-followers we shouldn’t neglect the power of being local. Rather than reading the latest branding book, why not gather mature leaders and listen for the Holy Spirit? How is he advising us to be the community of Christ in this unique place at this unique time?”

With our church, Kairos, out here in Los Angeles — that is what we keep asking ourselves. How is the Holy Spirit leading us to be the community of Christ in this unique place at this unique time? With us, that means having neighborhood churches. To plant groups of Christ-followers all around this city, to have a mega-effect, without having a mega-church.

from our website….

New structure for new times
Just as there are many different types of music–big band, rock, punk, jazz, rap, and pop-there are also different compositions that communities can have to effectively accomplish their mission. Jesus didn’t say, “I came to give you more ‘meetings,’ but I came to give you more ‘life.’”

So when it comes to the structure of Kairos, we believe that the job of the leaders is to create a structure in which good things can run wild. We believe that the majority of the good things that happen occur in everyday life, not just special meetings. Many church structures have an addiction to meetings in the sense that everything revolves around formal get-togethers. We certainly value meeting together, but only so that we can encourage each other to live out our calling in the real world, not simply inside the walls of a church.

A mega-effect without a mega church
We are not interested creating another mega-church, though we do believe we will have a mega-effect. Mega-churches have their time and place. However, we believe that there is a greater need for more intimate neighborhood churches. When it comes to metaphors, we believe that this city and world could use more churches that are more like jazz bands than orchestras. Orchestras are amazing and produce wonderful music, but they require a strict adherence on the part of the musician to play particular notes at particular times. With a jazz band there is a lot more freedom and flexibility to be spontaneous and jam. Jazz bands lend themselves to playing off the cuff, so that is what our structure lends itself to.