Comfortable verses compromise

What hits you first is the sweet aroma of Italian food cooking in the kitchen -  the lasagna and all sorts of pastas and pizza. The wood floors, tables, and chairs, and simple place settings give off an immediate warm feel in the place. Friendly and inviting people greet you. Everything has the feel of an informal, relaxed Sunday evening. You’ve just entered an Inside BridgePointe Event at Tuscany Restaurant in Townelake. We do these events about every other month.

Inside BridgePointe is all about connecting and communicating with people in a more personal way. We connect with people through relaxed conversation over a fantastic dinner and then communicate where we are going as a church and how people can be a part of it. Last week we hosted 12 guests. What I love about these events is the opportunity to be relationally intentional. Creating a relational environment is key to making space for new people.

Relational intentionality is the personality we want to see permeated in all that we do. A value is an intentional “vibe” that we seek in the DNA of our identity. It stems from a high premium we place on people. Ultimately, the way we connect with people as a church becomes the very platform for our message of life in Jesus Christ.

For many church leaders creating a comfortable environment for people, and especially for people far from God, is a debate often accompanied with understandable tension. The Scripture makes it clear that it is normal for unbelievers to be uncomfortable with the cross of Jesus, his message, and spiritual things no matter what we do at church.  

We are reminded that the “person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15) No matter how passionate we are in wanting to be a friendly church, we must never disguise the message of the cross nor gloss over the life-changing implications of what it means to be a Christ Follower. 

However, we must never use this truth to justify falling short of creating an inviting environment at BridgePointe. The cross should be the only “stumbling block” and “foolishness” that outsiders should face when entering our church. (I Corinthians 1:23) The Scripture gives clear space for the cross to offend, not for our church to offend. In other words, we want to create a safe place to hear a dangerous message.

Comfortable does not mean compromise at BridgePointe.