In 2008, the language of missiology is changing, so look for "church franchises" in your town.
Eddie Johnson, the lead pastor of Cumberland Church, espouses the franchising concept when it comes to the relationship between his church in Nashville, Tennessee, and North Point Community Church in metro Atlanta. On his blog, he states, "Just like a Chick-fil-A, my church is a 'franchise,' and I proudly serve as the local owner/operator."
According to Johnson, his job is to "establish a local, autonomous church that has the same beliefs, values, mission, and strategy as North Point." He completed a three-month internship at North Point and continues to receive training and support. He claims to rarely deviate from the "training manual."
"Just like that Chick-fil-A owner/operator," he says, "I'm here in Nashville to open up our franchise and run it right. I believe in my company and what they are trying to 'sell.'"
<idle musing>
Right! Let’s take God and package him up in a nice digestible portion. We certainly don’t want him to get out of our little box, if we do he might actually have the power to convict and change us! No! Can’t have that! It might upset our consumer model of Christianity.
No wonder the church is a laughing-stock and is relegated to the edge of society.
</idle musing>
3 comments:
Note to self--never join a church in which Eddie Johnson is the owner...I mean pastor.
amen to that.
Oh, I don't know....once you realize that these churches are not really local Bodies (of Christ), but more like parachurch organizations, then it all comes into focus.
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