We believe God is speaking to all
people and not just isolated individuals in power. We believe that
the average person in the seat has something holy to
offer the rest of us. “The Church is Flat” states
that power is used best when it is shared and that
all people are called to be leaders in sharing what
God has shared with them. Here’s
Why.
Background
The Church has almost predominantly taken on a hierarchical
form. Power has been centralized in the hands
of the few. While this has been helpful at different
times in order to respond against heresies that have
popped up, the hierarchical structure has regularly
reduced the masses to spectators. High illiteracy
rates in the Medieval Times centralized power in the
few who can read, typically the clergy. The Enlightenment
exalted specialization and made the pastor/priest the
professional theologian with the common person simply
a receiver of the clergy’s knowledge.
Changes
Thomas Friedman’s book “The World is Flat” describes
how the world is getting smaller with the increase
of communication and the availability of information. The
internet has allowed massive amounts of information
to be distributed to 3 billion people. But it’s
not just the receiving of information. YouTube,
blogs, myspace all illustrate how people are now more
able to share knowledge and personal information. “The
World is Flat” means that more power is being
distributed (and taken) away from the few and into
the hands of the many who have traditionally not had
power.
Roots
There are Biblical roots to this.
- In Exodus 19 Moses brings the recently liberated
Jews to Mt. Sinai. There “the Lord said
to Moses, ‘I am going to come to you in a dense
cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak
with you and trust you thereafter (Exodus 19:8-9).” This
is a historic event. If you look into World
Religions, you will not find another story of a divine
being revealing himself or herself to an entire people. This
Scripture reveals a key characteristic of the God
of the Bible: God reveals Godself to all people.
- In Hebrews 10, Paul writes ‘Therefore my
friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary
by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way
that he opened for us through the curtain, that is,
through his flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20).” Here, “sanctuary” refers
to the Holy of Holies where only the Jewish High
Priest could enter once a year. Paul’s
words explain that because of the Cross, we all have
immediate access to God’s Presence
How Does God Work?
The Bible reveals that God enlists people to do His
mission of restoring the world to right. The
story of Jesus’ Birth (Incarnation) tells us
that God lives out that mission in the oddest of places. A
teenage mother, fishermen and tax collectors, a doubting
Thomas, a Cross; all are places where God worked in
the past. God works in the same way today. In
short, God works through You … Me … Them
(whoever “Them” may mean) … Us.
So…
A Flat Church celebrates that God is speaking and
pursuing each and every one of us. You are a
one of a kind creation of God. Because of that
our life would be missing something if you choose not
to share what God is saying. If you never
opened your mouth, we would be utterly deprived. Because
all people are receiving from God, in all people are
called to be givers. To give and to share with
others what God has given and shared with You.
Sharing a prayer, a drawing, your service to help
another are all ways you can respond to what God is
saying to you.
We Believe
We believe that Love can change
the world. We will
not stop believing the impossible. We will not
dreaming of a better world. We believe, because
we believe that God is still speaking to each and everyone
of us. And when people know how unique they are
and how important it is to share what God is saying,
then the world will be changed.
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