I am a very traditional person. My preference is a church where the men all wear coats and ties and the women wear skirts or dresses. The congregation sings three or four hymns, accompanied by the piano and organ; we "pass the plate;" listen to the "special music" and a sermon; sing a "hymn of invitation;" have a benediction; and go home--or out to eat at our favorite "Sunday dinner" restaurant.
I attend New City Church downtown (NCCd) (note that the lower case "d" in "downtown" is intentional). It is nothing like the traditional church that I prefer. It meets in the Capital Theater (Cox Capital Theater, to be politically correct), an historic (read, old) theater in downtown Macon. It has a band that plays "Contemporary Christian" music; there is no piano or organ in sight (although keyboards would make a nice addition to the band--hint, hint). Nobody wears a coat and tie; skirts and dresses are rare, although some women just have to be different. The pastor, Keith Watson, usually wears sandals and leaves his shirt un-tucked.
Why, then, do I attend NCCd? With as many churches as there are in Macon and the surrounding area, you would think that I could find one closer to my traditional tastes.
I attended the first service at NCCd because my hair stylist, Anny Stanley, was playing in the band. I had wanted to hear Anny play for a long time, but wasn't interested in going to what had been her usual venues--bars, bluegrass festivals, and the like.
What hooked me on NCCd was the message and the mission. This area is overrun with Pharisaical, legalistic churches--churches that look at the Bible as a source of rules. NCCd is not like that at all; Pastor Keith preaches that we should get away from "the list"--our list of rules--and focus on the Gospel. And that we should make a difference here, starting in downtown Macon (the physical home of our church), spreading to all of Middle Georgia, and throughout the world. I'll write more about the message and mission of NCCd in another post.
I checked the web site, at http://www.newcitydowntown.org/, especially "What We Believe"--a statement of faith, and "What We Do Not Believe" (both under "About New City"). I could have written both documents myself--they accurately express much of what I do, and do not, believe.
"a worshipping community of missional theologians."
Our mission statement ends by stating, "... we are 'a worshipping community of missional theologians.'" As Pastor Keith says, we are all theologians, just not all very good theologians. Of course, we should seek to become better theologians, so it would seem appropriate to start with a study of the theology of NCCd, a study of "What We Believe." "Theology" is simply "the study of God" and a "theologian" is, therefore, "one who studies theology; that is, one who studies God." Note that, in the general sense, theology isn't limited to the study of the Judeao-Christian God; but, unless otherwise stated, "theology" as used here should be interpreted as "Christian theology."
I attend New City Church downtown (NCCd) (note that the lower case "d" in "downtown" is intentional). It is nothing like the traditional church that I prefer. It meets in the Capital Theater (Cox Capital Theater, to be politically correct), an historic (read, old) theater in downtown Macon. It has a band that plays "Contemporary Christian" music; there is no piano or organ in sight (although keyboards would make a nice addition to the band--hint, hint). Nobody wears a coat and tie; skirts and dresses are rare, although some women just have to be different. The pastor, Keith Watson, usually wears sandals and leaves his shirt un-tucked.
Why, then, do I attend NCCd? With as many churches as there are in Macon and the surrounding area, you would think that I could find one closer to my traditional tastes.
I attended the first service at NCCd because my hair stylist, Anny Stanley, was playing in the band. I had wanted to hear Anny play for a long time, but wasn't interested in going to what had been her usual venues--bars, bluegrass festivals, and the like.
What hooked me on NCCd was the message and the mission. This area is overrun with Pharisaical, legalistic churches--churches that look at the Bible as a source of rules. NCCd is not like that at all; Pastor Keith preaches that we should get away from "the list"--our list of rules--and focus on the Gospel. And that we should make a difference here, starting in downtown Macon (the physical home of our church), spreading to all of Middle Georgia, and throughout the world. I'll write more about the message and mission of NCCd in another post.
I checked the web site, at http://www.newcitydowntown.org/, especially "What We Believe"--a statement of faith, and "What We Do Not Believe" (both under "About New City"). I could have written both documents myself--they accurately express much of what I do, and do not, believe.
"a worshipping community of missional theologians."
Our mission statement ends by stating, "... we are 'a worshipping community of missional theologians.'" As Pastor Keith says, we are all theologians, just not all very good theologians. Of course, we should seek to become better theologians, so it would seem appropriate to start with a study of the theology of NCCd, a study of "What We Believe." "Theology" is simply "the study of God" and a "theologian" is, therefore, "one who studies theology; that is, one who studies God." Note that, in the general sense, theology isn't limited to the study of the Judeao-Christian God; but, unless otherwise stated, "theology" as used here should be interpreted as "Christian theology."
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