Entertainment Centers

To ask the question "How do we create and sustain a sacred community in a secular world?" is to risk finding an answer by assumption.  Thinking we know the answer, or figuring that the answer is obvious will certainly short circuit the whole process.  For example, it is easy to figure we know what a sacred community is since we attend one every Sunday morning.  But, is it really?  It bears the markings of what we have always supposed to be a sacred community so it is easy to assume that the answer to the question will duplicate what we already experience.

 

However, as we consider the term "sacred," we are caused to think in a different way.  There are at least two significant aspects to the meaning of the word which must be given consideration.  First, a sacred community is one devoted to God.  It is devoted to offering worship to Him.  It is devoted to serving Him.  To put it in the simplest of words, the principal character in a sacred community is God.  If it does not please Him, then we have missed the mark.  And, secondly, a sacred community is a "set apart" community.  It is a community set apart for holy purposes.  Being set apart for holy purposes is at the core of understanding the essence of a sacred community.

 

Perhaps, thinking in this way makes us wonder about some of the so called sacred communities in our world.  Are they really something we want to see duplicated?  Many of the churches on our street corners are measured as successful instead of faithful.  Their life is dependent on how well they attract and please the masses.  If God is pleased, then all the better, but what really matters is creating a place centered around meeting all the needs of all the people. Maybe some of these churches are more like entertainment centers than places set apart for worship and service to God.