5 CORE CONVICTIONS, Mark Batterson

      Because I have been inspired much by The Circle Maker, I wanted to know more about who is Mark Batterson, so I looked to see if he has a website.  It is here if you want a quick link to check it out.
       Fyi: (also from his website):  Mark serves as lead pastor of National Community Church (www.theaterchurch.com) in Washington, DC. One church with seven locations, NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations. The vision of NCC is to meet in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the DC area. NCC also owns and operates the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill.
       His blog on April 10 resonated with me.  I believe the church has become ineffective and must change if it is going to affect our culture--and so, obviously, does Mark Batterson.  He says it so much better than I can, so here is the post:

Mark Batterson's blog Post,  TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012

5 CORE CONVICTIONS,

Just thought I’d share 5 core convictions that drive us at National Community Church. These are part of our OS or Operating System as a church.

1. There are ways of doing church that no one had thought of yet.

2. We need lots of different kinds of churches because there are lots of different kinds of people.  Let’s stop criticizing and start celebrating our differences.  If the gospel is being preached, it doesn’t matter what name is over the door!

3. The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet.

4. We ought to be more known for what we’re FOR than what we’re against. Paul didn’t boycott the Areopagus.  He walked into the marketplace of ideas and competed for the truth!

5. The church belongs in the middle of the marketplace.

A church that stays within its four walls isn’t a church at all.  It’s a club. Jesus didn’t just hang out at synagogues. He hung out at wells–natural gathering places in ancient culture.  We can’t wait for people to come to us. We’ve got to go to them. We’ve got to meet them on their turf, their terms.