This Sunday, churches across the country are shutting their doors and taking their worship outside to demonstrate one of the most principal mandates in Scripture – faith in action.
Faith in Action Sunday is the culmination of a four-week churchwide campaign that aims to get Christians out of the pews and onto the streets to raise the value of social justice and compassion, serving as Jesus served the church, says one spokesman.
"One of the most integral parts of Faith in Action is that those objectives of serving and meeting needs and sharing the love of Jesus are intricately woven together in this particular campaign," said Lynne Marian, vice president of communications for Outreach, Inc., a national provider of marketing and community resources for Christian churches and publisher of Outreach magazine.
Outreach has partnered with humanitarian agency World Vision and evangelical publisher Zondervan to create the groundbreaking campaign that invites Christians to mobilize and "be the Church" by practicing their faith. Faith in Action launched in May and has so far drawn the participation of hundreds of churches.
The campaign grew out of a Faith in Action Study Bible that Zondervan and World Vision had designed to highlight Scripture passages that elevated service, compassion and Christ's heart for the poor. Over the last two years, Outreach joined the partnership to create an outlet for churches to embody the teachings and take action.
Although Sunday services will be cancelled this weekend, Marian considers Faith in Action "worship" in a different way.
"This campaign has been transformational," she said. "It has taken people who have just been sitting in pews for years help them understand this is really what church is about."
Also prompting the campaign was an overwhelming inward focus found in American churches. According to a recent survey of churches across the country, nearly 95 percent of the churches' ministries were for the members alone. And many churches had no ministries for those outside the congregation, noted Thom S. Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources.
"While there certainly should be ministry available for church members, often the balance between external and internal ministries is heavily skewed toward internal," he said in a column featured in Outreach magazine.
And when churches narrow their focus to their own flock, death may be imminent, Rainer cautioned.
Something like Faith in Action Sunday not only inspires congregants to go into the community but invites the community to serve alongside with them, Outreach's Marian noted
But some evangelicals don't fancy the idea of canceling worship services to do visible works.
"Canceling worship for the sake of these perfectly fine projects is, essentially, a publicity stunt, so I guess it's no surprise that there are two media companies sponsoring it," David Fischler, assistant pastor for Church Planting at Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Kingstowne, Va., wrote on his blog.
"But whatever the reason for it, it's wrong, and it's a misplacement of priorities," he added, noting that worship is the central purpose of the church.
In response, Steve Haas, World Vision’s vice president for church relations, contended the meaning of true worship.
"The purpose of foregoing a Sunday gathering at a local church in favor of that same fellowship ministering to their local community is not in any way intended to denigrate worship, the church or its mission," said Haas. Continue >>
RSS
Go .. Walk the Walk ...
This is one of those instances where it appears that their hearts are in the right place, but the application is lacking. On the one hand, doing good out in the community is a wonderful thing! We did something like it (on a much smaller scale!) at our church called "Love in Action" last year. We organized a day for church members to go to the homes of those who needed odd jobs done (lawns mowed, fences painted, minor carpentry work, gardening, grocery shopping...), and we did them. The people receiving the help were just residents in the area who may or may not have attended church.
On the other hand, it is important for believers to meet together for worship and instruction, and in most Christian denominations this happens on a Sunday. It seems it would be confusing to non-believers if they see a large group of Christians apparently "dump" Sunday worship. Maybe they might think "church" isn't that important, after all?
I'm not trying to be pharisaical about a day of rest and devotion to God, but rather it seems there should be some kind of consistent message. When we did "Love in Action", it was on a Saturday. It didn't interrupt church services, and it also gave the opportunity to invite anyone interested to come along the next day. Seems like "Faith in Action" could have been organized the same way. I would go one step further and have a list at the church that was ongoing, and congregants could go and serve any day that suited - except Sunday. :o)
I agree that closing the church doors on a Sunday does seem like a publicity stunt. Non-believers will certainly suspect that. I know I would.
NONSENSE and more NONSENSE!!! What diatribe has caused these congregations to "forsake the gathering of themselves together as they see the day approaching?" But then...maybe they don't the day of Christ approaching, and they're too busy putting their faith in action that they are reminding unbelievers that it's okay not to attend worship services!! What utter uselessness, but no surprise coming from a couple of the two more liberal wings of the church - Zondervan and World Vision. I agree that there are many believers who are feeding the hungry and clothing the poor on a daily basis without all this fanfare and trumpeting, and this is merely a "publicity stunt."
What about it, folks. Maybe we should give up meeting every Sunday completely. Boy, that'll show the world that the Great Commission works, huh?
My experience is that there are many churches, and those who attend churches, doing a lot every day. They are feeding and clothing the homeless, visiting hospitals, nursing homes and prisons, knitting and crocheting to keep people warm, providing medical aid, and doing a thousand little things for their neighbor every day, all for the glory of God, but without making a big deal about it since that is what the Bible says to do. They are just simply doing it without the fanfare that sometimes follows some bigger church leaders (especially when they do press releases). They are also doing it without making huge amounts of money by selling things like "kits", banners, bulletin covers, t-shirts, etc.
It has also been my experience that many who don't think that anything is being done, are those who are not involved with doing anything, and are therefore assuming that no one does. So instead of giving of their own time, they are taking the one hour they are giving to God every week, and doing something they should be spending their own time doing, instead of His.
I think they have the right idea. Too many Sunday's across America preachers preach and the people in the pews get upset about what is happening in America... then when the sermon is over... everyone goes home to watch Football games, relax, take a nap or even possibly to go out and eat lunch with their Sunday school classes. Yet, how many of us take that sermon and then go out into our neighborhoods to meet the people in them?
Not many, not many at all.
Nothing is more important than worshipping God and while doing good for others is a very important part of how to act like Christ, it isn't worship.
It wasn't until I got to the end of this article that I finally understood what all of this is about.
The article says..."Churches that sign up for Faith in Action (www.putyourfaithinaction.org) engage in three weeks of preparation through sermons, small groups and daily devotionals before closing their doors on Sunday to reach out to the community".
I would encourage everyone to go to this website, click on "order your Faith in Action resources" and check out the prices for what they are charging churches to be involved. They are paying for everything from participants kits at 6.95 for each person, to small group leaders kits at 24.95 each. Those that really get involved can get backdrops for 599.00, t-shirts 5 pack for 34.95 and bulletin shells 100 for 9.99, along with other merchandise.
I believe this move has no biblical mandate or sanctioned precedence. When I read the headline, several verses came to mind. "Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." Matthew 23:23. For the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, worship had become hollow ritual and not true worship. But they were to practice the latter without neglecting the former. Or when Jesus was annointed at Bethany, "Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, 'Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a years wages and the money given to the poor.' And they rebuked her harshly.
"Leave her alone." Jesus said. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them anytime you want." Mark 14:5-7a. My question is, if the people aren't inspired to practice the "more important matters of the law," then what are they being taught in their churches? In Acts 6, the 12 said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God inorder to wait on tables." Acts 6:2. It's not that waiting on tables isn't important, but they were not to neglect the ministry of the word of God to do it.
When I was in a backslidden state, God began to remove things from me that I had trusted in instead of Him. When I had reached the end of myself, I fell on my face and cried out to Him, "Father, what would you have me to do?" The answer was suprising and instantaneous, "Worship me." He could have said, and I was expecting, something else. "Repent" or "Spread the Gospel" or "Feed the poor" would all have been biblical, but that wasn't what he said to me. I obeyed and began attending church that week. What I came to realize was that ". . . true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23. True worshipers will be inspired to do the important matters of the law of justice, mercy and faithfulness, without a program in place and all to the glory of God. Anything else is just "filthy rags."