Details has an interesting story about the changing church in America today. The story is a detailed look at Reality LA church in Los Angeles. It is clear that the author, Anna David is having a hard time fitting the church into the preexisting categories in her mind.
Go check it out. Here is a bit to tease you over, but it is all well worth reading.
Chaddick’s church is the antithesis of mass-produced middle-American neo-Protestantism. While Joel Osteen’s brand of cul-de-sac Christianity suggests that you can get a perfect, prosperous life and a six-bedroom mansion through faith and regular church attendance, Reality LA, which doesn’t advertise itself, is at once much more reactionary and much hipper, the small-batch alternative to the Walmart-esque megachurch. Reality’s teachings are distinctly antimaterialistic, instructing followers to screw the six bedrooms and forget about the house—the church encourages members who would donate money out of obligation not to give at all and rents a high school for worship rather than owning a building. Chaddick also preaches that being born-again isn’t a magic bullet that will suddenly absolve you of sin or torment. “Our lives are ones of continual repentance, and to repent just means to turn away,” he says. “Perfection is not required, but progress is possible.”
This would seem like a tough doctrinal pill to swallow, especially to a crowd of young, fashion-forward Angelenos who look as perfect as the cast of any CW show. But Reality’s traditional dogmas are balanced with frank discussions of the modern pressures faced by its flock.
Read More http://www.details.com/culture-trends/critical-eye/201009/tim-chaddick-realityla-hollywood-church?printable=true#ixzz0wlfO8Pq4
What do you think? I think that God preserves his church by changing its form as necessary.
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