a sol cafe manifesto: Church is not the building

a sol café manifesto

This is an attempt to capture a bit of what the sol café is all about. It will not capture everything. It won't even come close.

This is not a statement of faith. This is not a statement of vision. It's just a statement.

This is a piece of our manifesto:

Church is not the building

The important part of a church is not the building. I think that most people after a very small amount of time would agree with that.

It is not the Sunday services either. It is definitely not the music (so called worship). It is not the Bible studies, potlucks, or other programs/activities that the church participates in.

Those are all just things to get people close enough to experience the real important part of church. People.

Don't get me wrong, I am not placing people above God. God is the reason we have church.

But the purpose of church is to take a person from a solitary relationship with God and add to that the group or collective relationship with God.

The most valuable lessons that I have learned, the theological and philosophical ideals that I hold dear, the practical everyday way I interact with God throughout life, all these I have learned from interacting with other people who are following God as well. I watch how they live. I see how they reconcile contradictory influences. I learn how they put their theoretical priorities into practice. I follow them as they struggle with obstacles and glean from their mistakes and/or victories. I learn from mentors, by example.

The best examples are real ones, not artificial. They can be observed while watching a hockey game in a bar, helping a person move, buying ancient appliances from somebody's barn, playing mah-jong, or eating bannock. Therefore church is two or three gathered together in God's name, doing anything, anywhere, anytime.

contributed by Dave

4 response(s):

Dave says...: Oh yeah,there aught to be some form of corporate worship as well. But well...
Winston says...: Wow, I couldn't have said it better myself. Nicely done, Dave.

This one time I was out camping with some friends, a beautiful sunny morning, breakfast sizzling on the grill. We were all just sitting around with a coffee in hand, listening to some jazz coming from my friend Brad's lime green VW camper van. All of a sudden a great piece of jazzy gospel music came on.

We all looked up at each other. I said, "it's Sunday isn't it?" Someone answered, "hmmm, good church service today..."
Yogger says...: I think we need to be careful not to lump everything into church. The Church is God's people. And you explained it admirably. However, Church isn't necessarily doing "anything at anytime." Just because we go to a bar with a Christian (or non-believing) friend doesn't mean that we've fulfilled God's purpose for the Church.

He tells us that we shouldn't give up the habit of meeting together; a meeting where God is worshipped (no, not necessarily through music... but worship, prayer, communion, etc). When Jesus says "when two or three are gathered in my name" the "in my name" phrase is really important. He wants us to gather because of Him. Remember, "talking about" God and "learning about" Him are not worship. Useful and profitable, but not worship. Worship is offering our bodies as living sacrifices.

This can be done ANYWHERE. However, worship should come from us in whatever we do because whether in word or deed we are supposed to do everything to the glory of God.
steve the z says...: I keep going back and forth between this post and Romans 12:1-8. I have a hard time seperating worship and church from other aspects of my life. I enjoy going to church and taking part in prayer, communion and whatever. I believe it is essential to my faith to continue, however I don't feel limited to that.

When I read verses 5-8 it seems my responsability (or sacrifices) doesn't end there, that possibly my true worship is what I do during the week as I give of myself to others in the community. So for me, I do throw it all togethor, I have no ability to seperate it. Maybe calling it church is the wrong label, but for me it all blurs togethor.

"so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us."
Romans 12: 5 and part of 6

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	antecedents This is not the "right" way to do church, but it i... We don't give pat answers We operate on "Mexico" time We ask questions like... "how have I been shaped? ... symbols are powerful and necessary, but don't conf... don't do anything just because "we've always done ... our whole life is an act of prayer all of this could be wrong God leads this church, not us church should not be a barrier to people getting t... more manifesto March 2006 April 2006 July 2006 October 2006 January 2007 July 2007 now			a sol café manifesto This is an attempt to capture a bit of what the sol café is all about. It will not capture everything. It won't even come close. This is not a statement of faith. This is not a statement of vision. It's just a statement. This is a piece of our manifesto: Church is not the building The important part of a church is not the building. I think that most people after a very small amount of time would agree with that. It is not the Sunday services either. It is definitely not the music (so called worship). It is not the Bible studies, potlucks, or other programs/activities that the church participates in. Those are all just things to get people close enough to experience the real important part of church. People. Don't get me wrong, I am not placing people above God. God is the reason we have church. But the purpose of church is to take a person from a solitary relationship with God and add to that the group or collective relationship with God. The most valuable lessons that I have learned, the theological and philosophical ideals that I hold dear, the practical everyday way I interact with God throughout life, all these I have learned from interacting with other people who are following God as well. I watch how they live. I see how they reconcile contradictory influences. I learn how they put their theoretical priorities into practice. I follow them as they struggle with obstacles and glean from their mistakes and/or victories. I learn from mentors, by example. The best examples are real ones, not artificial. They can be observed while watching a hockey game in a bar, helping a person move, buying ancient appliances from somebody's barn, playing mah-jong, or eating bannock. Therefore church is two or three gathered together in God's name, doing anything, anywhere, anytime. contributed by Dave 4 response(s): Dave says... Oh yeah,there aught to be some form of corporate worship as well. But well... Winston says... Wow, I couldn't have said it better myself. Nicely done, Dave. This one time I was out camping with some friends, a beautiful sunny morning, breakfast sizzling on the grill. We were all just sitting around with a coffee in hand, listening to some jazz coming from my friend Brad's lime green VW camper van. All of a sudden a great piece of jazzy gospel music came on. We all looked up at each other. I said, "it's Sunday isn't it?" Someone answered, "hmmm, good church service today..." Yogger says... I think we need to be careful not to lump everything into church. The Church is God's people. And you explained it admirably. However, Church isn't necessarily doing "anything at anytime." Just because we go to a bar with a Christian (or non-believing) friend doesn't mean that we've fulfilled God's purpose for the Church. He tells us that we shouldn't give up the habit of meeting together; a meeting where God is worshipped (no, not necessarily through music... but worship, prayer, communion, etc). When Jesus says "when two or three are gathered in my name" the "in my name" phrase is really important. He wants us to gather because of Him. Remember, "talking about" God and "learning about" Him are not worship. Useful and profitable, but not worship. Worship is offering our bodies as living sacrifices. This can be done ANYWHERE. However, worship should come from us in whatever we do because whether in word or deed we are supposed to do everything to the glory of God. steve the z says... I keep going back and forth between this post and Romans 12:1-8. I have a hard time seperating worship and church from other aspects of my life. I enjoy going to church and taking part in prayer, communion and whatever. I believe it is essential to my faith to continue, however I don't feel limited to that. When I read verses 5-8 it seems my responsability (or sacrifices) doesn't end there, that possibly my true worship is what I do during the week as I give of myself to others in the community. So for me, I do throw it all togethor, I have no ability to seperate it. Maybe calling it church is the wrong label, but for me it all blurs togethor. "so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." 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