Tuesday, July 15, 2008 What Does "Encounter" Mean?

David Edwards wrote in this in his book Encountering God:

"The word ENCOUNTER carries a nuance of surprise with it... encounters with God usually occur, not when they have been planned, but in unexpected places when God chooses to reveal Himself in a more personal way."

Quite simply, Encounter will be a church community where people will encounter Jesus. That means first and foremost, we will embody the purpose and personality of Jesus.

HIS PURPOSE
Jesus healed some, He fed some, He made some social comments, but Jesus' main purpose on earth was to seek and save the lost (He said so in Luke 19:10). And now the church, who is the embodiment of Christ on earth, is to carry on the purpose and ministry of Christ. A church community that is truly being "The Church" is about connecting people with the Father through Christ.

HIS PERSONALITY
Jesus was authentic. He despised any tradition that "boxed man in" and "boxed God out." We need to cut through many of the church culture barriers that are more about tradition than about Jesus and God’s inspired word.

Jesus was relevant in His culture and understood people’s lives, concerns, and dreams. Whatever we do as a church community, we must speak into people’s lives with the true relevance of Christ by addressing the questions our culture is asking. What does this have to do with my real life?

Jesus was enjoyable. People loved to be around Jesus, especially skeptics and sinners. The only people who didn’t seem to enjoy Him were the inauthentic religious leaders. Everything we do at Encounter — our communication, music, relationships, physical environments — must be enveloped in a real and enjoyable atmosphere.

Jesus was accepting. With all of His holiness, godliness, and righteousness, was not afraid to embrace people with a past. Instead, He drew them to Himself. In the same way, a church community will strive after that which is pure and right and true, but at the same time, be comfortable with and accepting of those who are very far from God.

Encounter is about creating environments that reflect the purpose and personality of Jesus. When our environments reflect Jesus, we are more likely to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.