Church or Food October 4, 2007
Posted by Zack in Georgia , trackback
One of the other five main speakers to address the full stadium today was Francis Chan.
Francis told his story: He had become a wildly successful mega-church preacher with an exploding church. But he felt something was off. Something made him walk away from it all. He told his church he was leaving and might never come back. He prayed and studied the Bible for three months months and came to the conclusion that he and his church had fallen off of Jesus’ path—the path of giving to and serving the poor.
The church was about to embark on a multi-million dollar building project (that’s what mega-churches do). They canceled the project and decided to just hold chuch outside. They had massively outgrown their old church. He said their plan now is to give away 50% of what they bring in.
From the Cornerstone church website, here’s why they’re holding church outside instead of building a fancy new sanctuary:
The idea of building an outdoor amphitheater rather than an auditorium sprung from a desire to save millions of dollars. It came from a belief that God would rather we spend that money in other ways. It comes from a thought that God would receive more glory from seeing His children sacrifice for others- namely, those around the world who lack basic necessities. The idea then evolved into developing the property into more of a park-like setting that could be enjoyed by the community throughout the week. In this way, we would be giving to our community as well as to the needy around the world.
In reality, this is about more than a building. The park/amphitheater is an expression of a mindset. It represents a group of people who are willing to sacrifice their own comforts in order to better care for others. The following are not just reasons to build inexpensively, but they are the reasons why Cornerstone strives to be a “giving” church.
- We love the poor: People around the world desperately need aid (Romans 12:13).
- We love Jesus: He says that He is the One suffering (Matthew 25:35-36).
- It’s best for us: We’ll be more joyful if we give rather than receive (Acts 20:35).
- It affects unbelievers: They are impacted when they see good works (Matthew 5:16).
- It models Christ: Laying down our lives is how we imitate Christ (1 John 3:16-17).
- We gain eternal rewards: God rewards those who care for the poor (Matthew 9:21).
Comments»
A church in the Simi Valley revolting against greed? Talk about walking through the valley of the shadow of death, and fearing no evil…
Not sure what their plans are for when it rains on Sunday, but it has struck me that just cancelling church, maybe posting the intended sermon on a blog and letting people comment on it and scheduling alternate activities would be a rather hip thing to do, and would probably lead to more engagement, not less.
thanks for your “reporting.” I love to think that this Jesus revolution is bigger than I know and even creeping across all the lines that our words have drawn. This amphitheater project is truly good news…unless of course you happen to be in Seattle?
This post in particular resonates with me. This IS good news and sets a great example for what a church can do when they outgrow their current facilities without opting for the megachurch stucco covered box. Plus nothing says “green” like an ampetheater in a park.
This is a great post, with a message I fully support. thanks.
[…] THINK OF ME 04:04 A movie that was presented by Franis Chan and his church Cornerstone. This is the reason they decided against a multi-million dollar church building to instead build an out-door amphitheater for church. The rest of the money was given to help feed the poor around the world. UNBELIEVABLE! [h.t. shlog and Jesusland] […]
This ischallenging to us all. The mainstream church is definitely out of touch with its purpose. More ultra rich churches should follow suit.
[…] a mega church pastor in California recently spoke at the Catalyst conference in Atlanta, GA and Zach Exley covered it here. We love the poor: People around the world desperately need aid (Romans […]
Dedicated sports fans sit in the sun and bad weather all the time for the thing that is a priority to them, why would Christians have to skip church because of bad weather?
Yes - that was exactly how he made his point when he went to pitch his church on the idea.