The church has found itself on the periphery in the world these days. Where it used to be the center, it is now relegated to the outside. Why is that? My experience tells me it is because it expects people to come to it rather than the church to go to the people. It has become more about drawing in than going out. For some they don’t really experience Jesus in the church. They experience an institution, religion, legalism and all the other things that shut Jesus out.

I spent 3 years at seminary and many more years sitting in church on Sunday in learning mode. It is important to know what God says, who God is and what God wants from me. But there also needs to be action. Many times my thought was “Ok, so great… God loves me and his son, Jesus, died for me. Now how should I respond?” My answer was to follow the two greatest commandments- I should love God in return and love my neighbor as myself. These require action on my part. I could hardly love my neighbor just sitting in church every Sunday. But through Renew I can go out and act. I can collect food for the homeless at Manna on Main Street or cook them a meal. I can help throw a Christmas party for a group home for mentally ill residents in Perkasie. I can invite those far from God to my house church so that they can experience church in a different way. I can interact with other people made in the image of God who need someone to reach out and care for them. Then hopefully some day they can do the same for someone else.

To me Renew is love in action. We go out to serve and to care for our neighbor and in doing this we love God in the process. We meet people where they are at spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. And we do this in a way that is soft and patient. We go to the places we think Jesus would go to and we develop relationships with the people Jesus loves. I may still sit and learn on Sunday, but it creates a desire for me to act out in love the rest of the week.

-Bonnie Steich

Many people have asked us, “What do you hope house churches look like at Renew?”
There are a lot of answers to this important question.
The easiest way to put it is to incarnate (embrace and flesh out in our everyday lives) the values of the kingdom with others.
And that could take a lot of different forms.

But maybe the better response to that question is to provide clear snapshots of what it could look like in the midst of incarnational communities.

Hugh Halter, author of the book The Tangible Kingdom, gives some great examples of what healthy incarnational communities could look like.
Click here to read what he has to say about it.

Since Jesus walked the earth, Christianity has become extremely muddled, cluttered, and misconstrued. From people standing on street corners screaming about hell to the religious hypocrisy in the news to the more personal disappointments with “church,” people are searching for so much more than superficial religion.

People are searching for honesty, authenticity, and acceptance – regardless of appearance.

John Mayer said it best in his song, Belief, “Belief is a beautiful armor, but makes for the heaviest sword.” Unfortunately, Christians have thrown the heaviest sword, oblivious to the damage it would cause.

But the beauty of it all is that the story isn’t complete. We can be a light of hope to those who are hurting. We can build someone up rather than break them down. We can change the world, if only we would try.

Personally, I want to focus more on serving people who are going through a tough time. I want to hang out with people who are lonely. I want to listen more than I speak. I want to show others that being a follower of Jesus isn’t about abiding by strict guidelines, but rather about love. I want to get back to the way Jesus originally intended “church” to be.

And that is why I’ve joined the Renew Community.

-Kyle Landis

As we’ve been asking the question “How can we help?” we found one significant way we can serve is to help start a Farmers Market in Lansdale.

It’s been a lot of work over the past several months, but Bill Stevens and many others from Renew and the Lansdale community have worked very hard towards a Saturday morning market starting Spring of 2009.

An article appeared in this morning’s Reporter regarding the LFM
(Click here for the article).

There is much to be done. If you or anyone you know would like to be involved in the planning and operations phase of the LFM feel free to attend tonight’s meeting at 7 pm at the Lansdale Library Meeting Room or hit the “Contact us” link and we would be glad to give you more information.

Stories inspire more stories.

One of the things we do each week with our launch team is create space for someone to share their story.
As a pastor I can say that some of my favorite moments with our team have come during this time.

These stories have been raw and honest.
Joyful and devastating.
People growing up in great homes and no homes at all.
We’ve cried tears of sadness and we’ve laughed our heads off.

People have shared their life stories, stories that have been filled with heartache.
Filled with betrayal.
And divorce.
depression.
addiction.
the suicide of a best friend.
drug abuse.
loneliness.
abusive parents.
homelessness.
cutting.
infertility.
broken engagements.
sexual and physical abuse.
murdered siblings.

But each week these messy stories allow us to see glimpses of God breaking into people’s messed up lives – to our lives.
I hate hearing these stories…and at the same time I love it.
The stories are heart-wrenching, but the hope is evident.

People also speak of their lives being filled with joy.
And grace.
friendship.
compassion.
freedom.
adventure.
laughter.
meaning.
purpose.
hope.

At Renew we have but one rule: no perfect people allowed.
No one on our team would claim to have it all figured out.
In fact, some of us are more confused now as a follower of Jesus than before.
But the questions and the doubts and the valleys don’t scare us.

I’m honored to be a part of a faith community that is courageous enough to shed the masks at the door and be who they are.
Sure, its messy and complicated.
Broken and messed up and in need of hope.
And I love it.
Because this is the first step to realizing the invitation of grace that Jesus gives to us.
The story of the gospel is this: I am not okay. You are not okay. But that’s okay. Because God is more than okay.

I’m so grateful for our team.
It is a wild ride to see how our individual stories of brokenness fit into the One Story of Hope found in Jesus.
Because stories inspire more stories.

-J.R. Briggs

Yesterday, The Intelligencer did a feature story on our house churches
(Click here.) If anyone is interested in knowing more about our house churches and how to get involved contact Tracy Commons at tracycommons@renewcommunity.org