What kind of church is this? This is the most common question as people enter our doors. Our sign out front says New Covenant Church. People understand we are a church, that part was clear. But what kind of stuff happens in our church? That's what they really want to know. I can tell because as soon as the word "Anglican" comes out, the look on their face sort of glosses over in thought. In their heads they are checking their list of resources from old movies, TV shows, 20/20 reports of cults, etc. Have they ever heard of an Anglican Church? Mostly no. We are non non-denominational (that sure sounds redundant but it is true). We belong to the Church of England, does that clear it up? We are not any kind of "first" church; First Baptist, First Presbyterian, First United Methodist. But maybe we should be. I have never seen a First Anglican Church of Winter Springs so we probably could make that claim. Besides, how much easier is it to come up with a name for your church than to use the town and then say you are the first to put a church there. Sorry for late-comers. Second Baptist Church of Oviedo...I don't think so. Second United Methodist Church of Orlando is really not how things are done around here. One per town please. Find another town, or denomination. Or like the Catholics, instead of numbering our churches we could just use a holy name as the church name and say it is the church of The Most Holy Grail, or the church of Saint Denis. Probably never heard of that guy, have you? He was the first Bishop of Paris, and was beheaded. He is the patron saint of....you can't make this stuff up....headaches. Anyway, we are not a cool trendy church like Northpointe (the "e" makes it trendy), or Journey, Elevation, Carpenter's Shed, etc. Just New Covenant, as in the promise God made to his people. And we are Anglican. Not the Angel-ican church as our fire alarm people say when they call me. I have thought of a new angle on our Anglican name (now that was punny). Anglers are fishers, therefore we could be the Angler's Church....fishers of men! So you see, we could be trendy if we wanted, or first, or anything else. So what's in a name, you ask? The stuff we do, and the stuff we believe. Neither of which I have explained in this post. And that, my friends, is how it works. Better to discover what kind of church it is by sitting in a service. Come check us out this Sunday! And don't worry, stay tuned for part two on the stuff we believe and the stuff we do. Feel free to comment below, repost if you like, or just tell me what you think when you see me on Sunday!
Monday, April 18, 2011
What Kind of Church Is This?
What kind of church is this? This is the most common question as people enter our doors. Our sign out front says New Covenant Church. People understand we are a church, that part was clear. But what kind of stuff happens in our church? That's what they really want to know. I can tell because as soon as the word "Anglican" comes out, the look on their face sort of glosses over in thought. In their heads they are checking their list of resources from old movies, TV shows, 20/20 reports of cults, etc. Have they ever heard of an Anglican Church? Mostly no. We are non non-denominational (that sure sounds redundant but it is true). We belong to the Church of England, does that clear it up? We are not any kind of "first" church; First Baptist, First Presbyterian, First United Methodist. But maybe we should be. I have never seen a First Anglican Church of Winter Springs so we probably could make that claim. Besides, how much easier is it to come up with a name for your church than to use the town and then say you are the first to put a church there. Sorry for late-comers. Second Baptist Church of Oviedo...I don't think so. Second United Methodist Church of Orlando is really not how things are done around here. One per town please. Find another town, or denomination. Or like the Catholics, instead of numbering our churches we could just use a holy name as the church name and say it is the church of The Most Holy Grail, or the church of Saint Denis. Probably never heard of that guy, have you? He was the first Bishop of Paris, and was beheaded. He is the patron saint of....you can't make this stuff up....headaches. Anyway, we are not a cool trendy church like Northpointe (the "e" makes it trendy), or Journey, Elevation, Carpenter's Shed, etc. Just New Covenant, as in the promise God made to his people. And we are Anglican. Not the Angel-ican church as our fire alarm people say when they call me. I have thought of a new angle on our Anglican name (now that was punny). Anglers are fishers, therefore we could be the Angler's Church....fishers of men! So you see, we could be trendy if we wanted, or first, or anything else. So what's in a name, you ask? The stuff we do, and the stuff we believe. Neither of which I have explained in this post. And that, my friends, is how it works. Better to discover what kind of church it is by sitting in a service. Come check us out this Sunday! And don't worry, stay tuned for part two on the stuff we believe and the stuff we do. Feel free to comment below, repost if you like, or just tell me what you think when you see me on Sunday!
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I always liked when people called and asked if they could speak to the owner. Then, it was fun to say "yes, anytime you want he loves hearing from you." Then they ask you, "who is the owner" and you answer "God" while there is dead silence on the other end. Too fun.
ReplyDeleteYou know, there are a few "second" churches around. I see them traveling the backroads of this fine country. It is kinda funny to see them, kinda like the first time I saw a Fifth Third bank!! LOL!! I will stop here. :)
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