A Purposefully Small Church: Flexibility in Chaos

Join us in our new location, 728 E. 55th, Sundays at 10. Just not too many of yall.

The story we tell ourselves about the world up until very recently was simple- the power of mankind to make the world a better place is increasing rapidly, as scientific and rational thinking spreads and superstitition vanishes. The more data and information we get about the world, the better we get at ordering it for the good of humanity.

Then came 2020. We got tons of data, but so much of it was bad: racial injustice, police brutality, COVID, murder hornets… the chaos quickly overwhelmed our information. And even the information that we DID have didn’t bring us together; it only increased the chaos, as different interest groups used the same information to bolster opposing narratives.

Many of us have watched conflicts over what to do with our data play out between churches and the government. In particular, the conflict between the government of California and Grace Community Church, a megachurch led by the influential and outspoken pastor John McArthur, has drawn attention as two massive systems, church and government, come into conflict over the same data.

What does all of this have to do with the purposefully small church? In times of chaos, the small church is able to flexibly navigate difficult cultural environments. Because we have so little at stake in terms of our public impact, we are able to make decisions not on the basis of what they will look like on the internet, but instead on the basis of what is best for the spiritual health of our church family and our neighbors. Rather than posturing for the sake of a global audience, we are able to adopt a humble posture of service. We are able to meet safely, and still practice the Christian faith and worship as our people have for 2000 years. We can honor our God, and our authorities, not in spite of our small size, but because of it!

A Purposefully Small Church: Mission and Holy Farce

Its a weird-sounding idea, isn’t it? Almost an oxymoron; or like the pastor is a moron. But what if, in difficult times, the best possible church is the intentionally small one? Over the next few weeks, we will be doing a periodic series on why CTK is a small church… on purpose. Last week: the Family of God. This week: The Small Church and Mission. Next Week: Meeting God.

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Power and religion have a complex relationship. History is replete with examples of religious people (of all stripes) using the power of the sword or of the state to compel conversion, or coerce cooperation with various tenets of their faith, with results that are usually destructive to our common humanity. But recent events in the United States have demonstrated that it isn’t just political, violent power which gets used in the advancement of certain religious ideals; more powerful cultures can dominate less powerful cultures just by virtue of the strength of their institutions. Local, neighborly cultures get subsumed into the mono-culture of multi-national corporations, which have no problem doing violence to local distinctiveness. This violence is always justified with talk of the ideals of freedom, justice, fairness… but it is violent nonetheless. And it always provokes a backlash. The question is, “What kind of backlash?”

You would think then, that a community called “Christ the King” would be aimed at accumulating just this sort of domineering power. The reality is quite different. The kingdom of God comes, not by invasion, but by invitation. Not by sword, but by service. Not with a leer, but a laugh. Not by force, but by farce. A holy farce which sits, laughs, listen, tells the truth, woos. It is the way of God himself; the way of humility (Phil. 2:6-11). Someone once said that you cannot understand the Suffering Savior unless you understand the court jester. The court jester was able to tell the truth in surprising, shocking ways, precisely because he was beneath contempt. He could get away with it, because he had nothing left to lose. What could be more laughable (is enjoyable or entertaining a better word?) than God eating fish with his hands like a child who cannot use a fork?

The purposefully small church is perfectly positioned to pursue a life of holy farce. How can we do anything else? We are under no illusions about our power, or our relevance! We dare to tell the greatest joke of all: that where two or three are gathered together in Jesus’ name, he will be with us (Matt. 18:20)! We are a living parable of the kingdom, which begins as small as a mustard seed, and ends in the restoration of the world. Our only power is Spiritual Power. Our only invasion is Incarnation. Come eat fish with your hands!

Children we were—our forts of sand were even as weak as we, High as they went we piled them up to break that bitter sea. Fools as we were in motley, all jangling and absurd, When all church bells were silent our cap and bells were heard.- GK Chesterton

The Purposefully Small Church: The Family of God

Its a weird-sounding idea, isn’t it? Almost an oxymoron; or like the pastor is a moron. But what if, in difficult times, the best possible church is the intentionally small one? Over the next few weeks, we will be doing a periodic series on why CTK is a small church… on purpose. This week: the Family of God. Next week: The Small Church and Mission.

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The word “church” calls up all sorts of images in the minds of American Christians. Some of us think of the building we went to every Sunday with our parents; some of us think of organs, some of us think of sermons, some of us think of a rock concert. Some of us think of people; some of us think of programs. What do you think of when you think of the word “church”?

One of the primary metaphors for the church we find in Scripture is that of the family. From Genesis 12, where God calls the family of Abraham to serve him, to Romans 8, where Paul instructs Christians to call God “Father” the family metaphor runs through the whole Biblical story.

The purposefully small church takes this metaphor seriously. By committing to being a size where we can get to know one another, we hope to become a family. This is not glamorous. It demands that we participate, that we deal with our awkward relatives, that we support one another at great cost to ourselves. It isn’t glamorous, but it isn’t boring. Its the mundane work of cultivating intimacy with one another, and by extension, with God. And that is an adventure, because cultivating intimacy with a small family forces us to face the full ferocity of their humanity. What if one of the reasons we want our churches to be big is so that we can walk in, walk out, go home, and be done? What if one of the reasons we want our churches big is so that we can avoid the difficulty of relationship? You cannot avoid the difficulty of relationship with your family. But it is actually in that difficulty that you learn about grace, about mercy, about yourself, about God. The difficulty of the family isn’t a bug in the system. Its a feature! As Chesterton writes:

The supreme adventure is being born. There we do walk suddenly into a splendid and startling trap. There we do see something of which we have not dreamed before. Our father and mother do lie in wait for us and leap out on us, like brigands from a bush. Our uncle is a surprise. Our aunt is, in the beautiful common expression, a bolt from the blue. When we step into the family, by the act of being born, we do step into a world which is incalculable, into a world which has its own strange laws, into a world which could do without us, into a world that we have not made. In other words, when we step into the family we step into a fairy-tale.

Read the whole essay. Then join a family.

Every Nation Under Heaven: Identity (2)

Talking about Identity in Christian circles has become so popular as to be cliche. We are so used to the term “in Christ” that we don’t hear it anymore. But frequently, Christian identity is treated as an individual or psychological category. We know we aren’t supposed to put any identity over that one. But how? The real question is this: if “in Christ” is our primary social identity, then how do we go about constructing a positive Christianity that reigns over our ethnic, national, political, and economic identities? We are going to need new values, new heroes, and a new hope. Check out our sermon on Hebrews 11 below!

Every Nation Under Heaven: Identity

The truth: if you believe in Jesus, Christian is your identity. Its like your last name- its paramount.

The trap: especially for majority culture Christians, it is difficult to live like this.

The transformation: the apostles were willing to do something to bridge the gap between what they were called, and how they lived.

Check out our sermon on Acts 6 and Galatians 3 below!

Every Nation Under Heaven: Unity

Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter. Police Brutality or Protecting the Peace. 1619 or 1776. In America, on race, it seems like we are forced into a constant Either/Or. Alone of every narrative, Christianity provides some hope of unity. Listen to our latest sermon, Every Nation Under Heaven: Unity, at the link below!

Wine and Prophets, Beer and Brotherhood

Summer Announcements

1. Fellowship: Over the summer, we are going to provide a couple fellowship groups, designed so that you can drop in and out anytime you are in town.

   1. Women: Join us for wine and a study of the minor prophets, Wednesday at 715 at Elizabeth Rick's house (98 Coffee Pointe Drive). Text her for the gate code (843-540-2653) when you get there

   2. Men: Beer and brotherhood. Bring your own beverage and lawn chair, and meet in Harrison Key's driveway on Thursday. A local music phenomenon will be playing from 7-8 in the garage. If bleeding ears is your cup of tea, join then; otherwise, come hang out from 8-10.

2. Worship: I'll send out an email later this week when we have a worship location nailed down for Sunday. We will meet at 10 am.

Every Nation Under Heaven: Pentecost

2000 years ago, God sent a message we still seem not to have received: He cares passionately about racial injustice and division, and he calls his people to care passionately about it too. For their own good. Check out the first sermon in our series on Race and Christianity below.