Why Do Churches Look So Different?
The Invitation-Challenge Spectrum
Every person gets a different mental image when they hear the word “Christianity.”
Today, we’re finishing up a series of posts to help people understand if what they have experienced as “Christianity” is the authentic experience. We first looked at “How much do you need to believe to be a Christian?”, and then we examined, “Maybe You’re Following ULTRON, Not Jesus.”
Today, we’re looking at how people can have radically different interactions with individual Christians, churches, and even denominations.
Why do people who claim to believe the same things come across so differently?
Certainly, there are differences in culture, personality, proclivity, and even some disputable points in secondary or tertiary doctrines.
But beyond those issues, every church, and even entire denominations, find themselves in different places along two spectrums: the spectrum of invitation, and the spectrum of challenge.
Invitation communicates the idea of how welcoming a person, church, or denomination might be. It is the graciousness component. This manifests in how accepting the Christian is of the non-believer, or even a former believer who is no longer practicing.
Challenge communicates how much a person, church or denomination will come against a habit, or behavior that they see as damaging to the person’s relationship with Christ or with others. It is the truth component. This manifests in how much they will try to alter the behavior of other believers, or even non-believers.
Keep in mind that we are discussing a spectrum. No one is completely invitational or completely challenging. Every individual Christian, every church, even every denomination finds themselves somewhere along one of four quadrants: Low Invitation / Low Challenge, High Invitation / Low Challenge, Low Invitation / High Challenge, or High invitation / High challenge.
We’re going to interview a fictitious leader of the church who takes each of these quadrants to the extreme.
Note: People are quite complicated creatures, and a church, being filled with people, will be a composite of complicated creatures, and a denomination, being a collection of many churches, just adds ever more layers of complexity. These four interviews are taking each combination to the extreme, and are not intended to reflect any specific Christian, church, or denomination.
Everett Winter, pastor of the Fading Church (Low Invitation / Low Challenge)
We’re just going through the motions most Sundays. God loves you, but He doesn’t really like you. Let’s just keep the status quo. Sing the songs, pass the plate, and try to stay awake during the sermons. This whole Christianity thing is strictly for Sunday mornings. The rest of the week is yours to do with as you please. Mostly, we’re just glad you showed up and warmed a seat today.
Simon Foster, pastor of the Seeker-friendly church (High Invitation / Low Challenge)
We’re all about grace and mercy. God loves you! He loves everybody. He accepts you just as you are and there’s no need to change anything about who you are, what you are doing or even who you are doing. Drop your kids off at the bouncy house and come check out our coffee bar. Did you know our worship leader has tattoos?
Elderton Stone, Pastor of The Stifling Church (Low Invitation / High Challenge)
We have rules, rituals and creeds. You will follow them. If you don’t, God will strike you down, make you sick, cause your car to break down, or cause your washing machine to break. Something to get your attention. We have people checking attendance and we’ll call you or come visit your house if you miss a Sunday.
Wear your Sunday best, and ladies, be sure those skirts aren’t too short. When we ask how you’re doing, just smile and say, ‘I’m fine. We’re all fine.’ Keep your pain, problems, and secrets hidden from others.
David Dynamis, Pastor of the Dynamic Church (High invitation / High challenge)
God is madly, truly, deeply in love with you and wants the best for your life. Even better, He doesn’t just love you, he actually likes you.
Your past doesn’t matter anymore. It doesn’t matter what you did last year, last month, or even last night. You are welcomed here and we want to tell you about this amazing gift you’ve been given of forgiveness, grace and freedom.
Now that you’ve accepted that gift, live for Him. You are a child of the King. Conduct yourself in a manner that honors Him.
Let Him mess with the way you do life. Let Him talk to you about how you spend your money, who you share your bed with, how you treat other people, and how you parent your kids. No area of your life should be off-limits to Him if He asks you to change it.
Building a Dynamic Church
The most consistent Biblical model is the Dynamic Church (High Invitation / High Challenge). That’s the goal. If you haven’t experienced a dynamic church, I would encourage you to find one.
It's essential to recognize the potential value in each quadrant, beyond the Low/Low combination. High Invitation churches excel at creating welcoming environments, while High Challenge churches drive spiritual growth. By understanding their strengths and weaknesses, churches can create a holistic environment that meets the diverse needs of their congregation. One that both creates thriving communities and challenges their members.
Grace and peace
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s how Paul starts almost every one of his letters.
Let’s give each other some grace. No person, no church, no denomination gets this right all the time. The truer statement might be we never get it fully right. The scriptures say that Jesus was a man “full of grace and truth.” He’s the only one who ever lived with challenge and invitation in perfect balance. For the times we fall short, there is grace and peace.
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