Metro Jacksonville

A new church -- Koinonia Community Church of Springfield -- is being formed, dedicated to the love and grace of God, focused on meeting the everyday and spiritual challenges we face here and now. We are NOT seeking to "recruit" members from any other church ... because we won't have "members," budgets, bylaws, boards, or buildings. Our intent is to spend as much on helping to meet the needs of others in our community as we do on managing and maintaining our church. "Doing church differently" is our premise. Please check out our new Facebook page to learn more about us and become a member of our online community!

~Pastor Bruce

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/springfieldcommunitychurch/

Welcome pastor Bruce.  I do have a several questions.  First of all, we have a delicate balance of church influence in the central city area, including Springfield.  As you know, the First Baptist Church is the largest and best known.  My guess is that the FBC has one of the best connections with the old Christian god we’ve all known about for quite some time. 
 
My concern is about the particular god being brought into the neighborhood.  Is it going to be associated with the same god as the one with which the FBC communicates?  I’m somewhat familiar with this one, so if it is the same god, I have no further questions.  However, if it is not, then I do have some questions.

For example, is it male or female?  Is it white or black?  I’m assuming you’ve researched your god.  One must be careful about the god one selects.  Is it a gay god, lesbian, or straight?.... a question less relevant today as compared to several decades ago.  Gay gods?  Well….. okay by me, although….. well, a gay god would just complicates things.  Is he or she one of the old gods, perhaps one that’s been unused for a few centuries; or, if it is new, do you know from whence it came?  And this is very important….  by what name is this particular god to be known? 

I don’t know about you, but I tire of hearing the good worshipers say simply “god”, or “lord”, or “father”.  I understand that some refer to the god “Yahwey” etc.  Now, if a god is female, which the first gods of pre-history seem to have been, we would not call her “father”, but we would call her “mother”.

Since this is a new church, and it is a new god, can I suggest that we have a contest wherein participants submit names for the new god.  I expect you would want a name offering respect, just like some of the others.  For example, “Thor” sounds rather good, but it’s already in use.  We wouldn’t want words like “dirta” or “scrounga”.  The name could be something like “Highaloka”, although this sounds like a Native American god. Perhaps just “Higha” will do.  That’s better than “Lowya”.  How about “Hayawakki”?  But that sounds Hawaiian.  Or, how about “Tooka”? 
     
In any case, welcome to the neighborhood.           

...got a bone to pick, huh?

Angry widdle dawkinses are soooooo cute!

Best of luck to you, Pastor- I appreciate that you want to help the community instead of just residing in it.

It may be a new church ... but the same "old" God, just re-imagined and re-purposed from the rhetoric expoused by too many churches.

At Koinonia Community Church of Springfield, we believe that:

•   Faith is not about concrete answers, religious absolutes, creeds, or dogma. Faith is about the search for understanding, the raising of important questions, the open honesty of having doubt, and the realization that no one has it all completely right nor does any human hold all the answers. We seek to follow the advice found in 1st Thessalonians 5:21, which is to “seek truth out in all things and hold firmly onto that which is good.” Religious absolutes of dogma, legalism, and strict doctrine become stumbling blocks and “litmus tests” for who is “in” and who is “out” of the circle of God’s grace. These false tests that Jesus never required get in the way of truly following Jesus and his teachings.

•   Following Jesus is counter-cultural, radical, and disrupts the status-quo. The good news of the gospel is intentional in its inclusion of those who are traditionally marginalized and refused or rejected by Mainline Christianity.  We believe that each of us has been created in the image of God and that, therefore, we are called to welcome, accept, love and affirm each other.

•   The words of Jesus found in the gospels â€" specifically, what he states are the greatest commandments: “Love God with all of your essence and love your neighbor as you should love yourself” â€" are to be the focus for any of his followers. Other than that, Scripture is considered “sacred commentary” that reflects the history of a particular people, the Israelites, in the Old Testament … and an emerging community of Christians in the New Covenant.

•   Recognition and affirmation of the differing belief systems of others whose faiths offer a way into relationship with God and call upon them to further God’s love and grace on the earth, is crucial. As Jesus taught and revealed through example, anyone adhering to this way of life is furthering the Kingdom of God and God’s message of radical love and inclusion here on earth.

•   Creating fellowships and communities dedicated to lifting up, affirming, and equipping one another for the work the Spirit of God calls us to stress Micah 6:8: active in peace-making, striving for justice and equality of all people and nations, loving those who are labeled by our government, society, and â€" at times â€" ourselves, as “enemies,” caring for God’s creation, and bringing hope to the poor and poverty-stricken.

•   God created humans with a brain capable of discovery and reason. God does not require us to “check our brains at the door,” along with our coat and hat in order to be a part of the faith. Faith and Science are not in conflict; they are in harmony.

•   The Church is not a four-walled institution, but a ministry without walls that surrounds and encompasses everything, everywhere. We are all ministers whose ministry does not begin behind a pulpit or through witness conveyed only through spoken word; rather, our ministry extends to all people and places as conveyed by our actions.

•   Jesus’s central message is about radical inclusion; thus we welcome everyone to participate in our congregation without judgment or forcing them to conform to our “likeness” or subscribe to any creeds in order to be accepted. We invite and offer all a place at the table â€" no exceptions. 

Sounds like a great fit for the wonderfully diverse and inclusive Springfield community, no?

"Doing church differently!"

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=619359335#!/groups/springfieldcommunitychurch/

Merry Christmas, peace on earth ... and goodwill towards all!