1.) Should not expect to regularly come to church for just one hour, get what you need for your own personal growth and development, and your kid’s needs, and then leave til next Sunday. Expect mission to change your life. Expect a richer life than you could have ever imagined.
2.) Should not expect that Jesus will fit in with every consumerist capitalist assumption, lifestyle, or schedule you may have adopted before coming here. Expect to be freed from a lot of garbage you will find out you never needed.
3.) Should not expect to be anonymous, unknown or be able to disappear in this church Body. Expect to be known, loved, and supported in a wonderful journey.
4.) Should not expect production style excellence all the time on Saturday/Sunday worship gatherings. Expect organic, simple and authentic beauty.
5.) Should not expect a raucous “lights out” youth program that entertains the teenagers, puts on a show that gets the kids “pumped up,” all without parental involvement. Instead as the years go by, with our children as part of our life, worship and mission (and when the light shows dim and the cool youth person with the spiked hair burns out) expect our youth to have an authentic relationship with God thru Christ that carries them through a lifetime journey with God.
6.) Should not expect to always “feel good” or ecstatic on Sunday mornings. Expect that there will ALSO be times of confession, lament, self-examination and just plain silence.
7.) Should not expect a lot of sermons that promise you God will prosper you with “the life you’ve always wanted” if you will just believe Him and step out on faith and give some more money for a bigger sanctuary. Expect instead sustenance for the journey.
8.) Should not expect rapid growth whereby we grow this church from 100 to a thousand in three years. Expect slower organic, inefficient growth that engages people’s lives where they are at and expect to see troubled people who previously would have nothing to do with the gospel be drawn to Christ.
9.) Should not expect all the meetings to happen in a church building. Expect a lot of the gatherings will be in homes, or other places in the mission field.
10.) Should not expect arguments over style of music, color of carpet, or even favorite doctrines. Expect instead mission to drive the conversation.
11.) Should not expect that community comes to you. True community in Christ will take some “effort” and a reshuffling of priorities for both you and your kids. For you to be warmed by the community and your needs cared about, you must enter into the practices of “being the Body” in Christ, including sitting, eating, sharing and praying together. If anyone out there is interested in this kind of place, please join us or another missional church gathering somewhere.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
(I shamelessly repurposed this from my mentor David Fitch of Northern Seminary. Check out his blog for the original context)
Join us for an afternoon of music, food, artwork, and most especially, HOPE!
our next second sunday afterchurch feed-bag-fest will take place this sunday the 10th, after sanctuary (about noon-ish) at fuddruckers (kitty-corner from the theater). 
i can't tell you how much this well has touched my heart. we collected over $1500 to give the gift of a water well during our advent conspiracy. we committed to doing christmas different at sanctuary, and we did! i don't know about you, but christmas will never be the same for me, and i can't wait till next year.
