Reasons Not to Come
(Adapted from Justin Buzzard, “Top 10 Reasons Not to Join a Church Plant,” Acts 29 Network, March 2011)
Del Rey Church is really a home for anyone. However, not everyone who comes or attends will decide to make it home. In order to be upfront and offer a realistic picture of the challenges of belonging in a community, and so you are aware of some of the wrong reasons why people join a church, we offer this list to challenge folks to take an honest assessment of their own expectations and motives in considering joining our church.
Don’t join Del Rey Church if:
1. You’re looking for the next cool thing in town. (We want to grow by conversion growth, not church-goer transfer growth.)
2. You’re a Christian and you don’t like your current church. (You will find reasons to not like this church. Of course, some churches are whack, so in some cases it is appropriate if it is on biblical grounds of doctrine or morality, but otherwise we encourage you to stay and seek unity.)
3. You have a bad track record at churches of being unteachable and causing problems. (You won’t change here; you’ll repeat the pattern. We believe Matthew 18’s admonition of church discipline applies to all local churches, so hopping from one to another doesn’t negate the problem.)
4. You’re a consumer wanting to “go to church” once a week for a nice show. (We are not a Sunday show. We are a community of disciples on a mission.)
5. You want religion. (This church will be built on the radical gospel of grace that emphasizes relationship with God and knowledge of truth, not dead religion or human traditionalism.)
6. You have an agenda. (We have our vision, our mission, and our values. Your private agenda does not supersede them.)
7. If you’re a wolf. (We will sniff you out.)
8. If you think this will be a nice little church that stays the same size, where everybody knows your name, and you have the lead pastor's cell number on speed dial, and we have a picnic lunch together every week. (By God’s grace, we want to grow.)
9. If you think this will be easy and smooth. (This will be hard and difficult; this will be a fight, a battle, and a challenging mission.)
10. If you want to hold on to your comfortable life. (You must lose your life - that's what Jesus says in Luke 9:23-24.)
With that said, we hope you will join us and join for the right reasons. We exist to enjoy God by making disciples of Jesus Christ through the teaching of God’s word and loving people in genuine community. We are a home for you.
Today the problems are many in the church, but the hurt and harm caused by individuals getting upset because their particular way was not established or maintained is more often than not in the center of most unholy debates and the root of passions out of control. These kinds of attitudes and actions never bring God glory. If we would just remember that it is ALL about Jesus, the church would be a better place (or rather people), and we at Del Rey Church are committed to this end.