Common Ground: Church in a Bar

From Pastor John Bishop's Blog:

Treasa and Rick Conn, who with the help of Danny Joe and the rest of our teams, are starting a church in a bar. Specifically Dodge City Saloon (I know, we live in the west). Over the course of the weekend and during the last several days, there has been nothing but incredible momentum, buzz and support over what ONLY GOD might do. I feel like we're stretching and risking like Paul did, who wrote most of the New Testament. Paul was a legalist, a Pharisee, went to the best schools, from the tribe of Benjamin, he knew more than most in his day, and was respected by most everyone in his day. Yet when God broke his heart, his faith became break-through and he saw EVERYTHING differently. Look at the words he told the church at Corinth:

1 Corinthians 9:22-23 says, "...Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings."

I love that! I try to find common ground with everyone, and do everything so that I might bring them to Christ. The thoughts are pretty radical. When we broke the news about Dodge City, with over 5,000 people in all of our campuses, I thought that people would be frustrated, and I assumed people wouldn't understand, but it was just the opposite. We didn't hear any negative comments. Only positive, only encouragement, only support for Rick and Treasa, and in the end, ONLY GOD will be glorified. Thanks to the owner of Dodge City Saloon who is not only helping finance the campus, but is allowing us to use the facility every Sunday morning for no charge. Did you get that? Every Sunday morning for no charge.

I hope that we continue to find common ground and do whatever it takes to reach someone for Jesus Christ. When the day is over, the bar is simply a building. I'm glad to be a part of a church that always does whatever it takes to reach the next one person for Christ.