Open Hand faith community: "I want a church that..."

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 124

I want a church that values all people, regards all people as gifted and talented, and encourages the talents of others to be realized to their maximum, empowering people to discover their deepest longing and realize their wildest dreams while meeting the needs of others both near and far.

I want a church that reflects community, encourages community, embraces community and solves its problems through community. I want to part of a village that raises all our children.

I want a church where all types of music, dance, and art are encouraged and accepted and where the art and expression of it are enjoyed both within the body and offered also to the world around it.

I want a church that has a high regard for humor; that values adventure and fun; that carries a mindset that believes God is Involved and God's Involvement brings God great pleasure.

I want a church where leadership doesn't know everything and lives like it doesn't; where questions can be debated, ideas shared; where arguments can be intense, where matters of faith are processed through a multitude of counselors and where no one person is seen as possessing all the answers, all the authority, all the power, but where the essence of the Gospel (reconciliation between people) carries the day.

I want a church where relationships (the mutual pursuit of knowledge, the arts, the offering of support to others in times of success and failure, times of need and in times of plenty) are more important than programs, the style of music, or the acquisition of buildings.

I want a church where the teaching is topical, relevant, Biblical, and addresses the everyday dilemmas of everyday people. I want preaching that promotes morality without moralizing, where truth is proclaimed without judgment, where Grace is expressed through the trust exercised among friends.

I want a church that serves communion with great regularity recognizing that the presentations of bread and wine celebrate the very gifts of life, forgiveness and renewal.

Adapted from My Kind of Church - by Rod E. Smith

(All in unison)

I want a church that has open windows into the Kingdom of God, that calls into existence a prophetic imagination, that has not lost its zeal for learning, for writing and reading, and has life giving passion for creating dynamic new ways of inviting people around the world to travel with one another on this journey of faith with our Lord Jesus.

Peace,

O'Steven

Open Hand International Christian Community - Worship Liturgy February 7, 2010