The church I serve, Seacoast, has become known as a "multi-site" church…fair enough I guess, since we are one church worshiping in nine separate locations. We didn’t plan it that way…I guess you would call us accidental muti-siters…But in my mind we are not just a multi-site church.
I hate labels…I always have.
In the early years it was: "Are you charismatic or non-charismatic?" Answer: "Neither and both"…we were uncomfortable being defined by anyone and as anything but Christian. Made some interesting moments though…I remember one particular national list keeper calling to confirm the number of people attending our church at that time. As he went through the checklist (City, State, when the church was established, number of adults, kids, etc.) he asked the question…and our answer: "Neither and both"…"You’ve got to be one or the other"…"Why?"…I guess the answer was something about the computer needing to sort these things out …we’ve got to have categories…in this case there were only two…which one were we? Same answer. I remember the consternation in my Pentecostal family when we appeared in a publication sorted with the "non" group. (Non is often interpreted "anti" in the circles I grew up in.) It wasn’t my choice…I guess they had to pick one since we wouldn’t. So that’s how we landed…but it’s not who we are.
The same with "purpose driven", "seeker driven/sensitive/friendly/hostile", "spirit filled (or just moderately full)", "cell church/church with cells", "fundamental", "conservative/liberal", "emergent, convergent, submersive, just dipping"…you name it.
Why do I dislike labels? Let me count the ways:
- They are tainted by past experience ("I knew somebody once who was one of those")
- They tend to divide us into competing camps ("Oh you’re not _________?")
- They are inadequate in scope (In truth, we are many of the above…not just one or two)
- There are probably other reasons…(I just can’t think of them right now)
That being said…others will label us…not much you can do about it…and they are handy for categorizing…not a big deal really.
But…multi-site is a tool we use…it is not who we are.
We are a worshiping community, becoming more and more like Christ as we seek to serve one another and to share the good news with those whom God defines as our neighbors.
And we do it in multiple locations.
Absolutely! I bristle when someone tries to pin one of those labels on me. When someone asks what Seacoast "is", I love to say "Christian." The only label necessary is Christian -and I only want to be all that means – all and none, "neither and both". Thanks, Greg!
Comment by Stacy Coleman — September 23, 2005 @ 9:26 am
"libby libby libby on the label label label" – one of the reasons we've plugged in is that the labels don't matter as much as the love for each other. that's straight from the top – thanks, pastor greg!
Comment by rick — September 24, 2005 @ 11:34 am
I am not fond of labels either. I have one reservation though—>What and how do we teach the children and youth? Are we (Seacoast Church) going to end up "leaning" Unitarian?
(Unitarian religious education generally consists of exposing children and youth to different religious perspectives and then asking them to pick whichever one suits. In our case, it would be various Christian doctrines.)
Or do we expect parents to deal with the nitty gritty of doctrine when it comes to children and youth?
Elle
Comment by Elle — September 27, 2005 @ 3:53 pm
The trouble with labels: they don't tell the whole story. Many would rather label than get to know a person. They are content with other people's assessments rather than get to know someone themselves.
As for who we are as a Christians: how do you label relationship?
Comment by heather — September 28, 2005 @ 6:23 am
What I find funny about labels is that most denominational labels could be applied to any Biblical church. Baptist? Why, yes, we baptize. Episcopal? Why, yes, we have bishops. Presbyterian? Why, yes, we have elders. United Methodist? Why, yes, we are united, and we follow certain methods. Apostolic? Yes, we have an apostolic mission. Pentecostal? Yes, the Church "began," so to speak, on the day of Pentecost. Charismatic? Yes, we have gifted members. Holiness? By God, we hope so! Congregational? Yes, we meet as a congregation. Disciples of Christ, Church of Christ, Church of God, Church of God in Christ, Assemblies of God? Absolutely! *gasp* Catholic??? Why, yes, we are part of the universal Church.
Comment by Michael Rew — October 2, 2005 @ 6:49 pm