Matters of Faith

Church is more than a building. It is a place of God’s presence when there is an ekklesia, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. (Matthew18: 20).

Made up of two Greek words, EK — “out of,” and KALEO — “shall be called,” ekklesia means assembly, congregation or a gathering of called-out ones.

And in September, Good News United Methodist Church will begin a very new and different worship experience — their own gathering.

It is currently named Ekklesia (pronounced ek-klay-see’-ah) because we couldn't find a better name than Jesus gave it in Matthew 16,” Rev. Randy Greene, pastor of Good News, told The Sun.

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (ekklesia), and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Greene said their gathering would be a time of “music, a message, and intentional interactive component, an opportunity for time with others on the journey with you, a place for responding to the Scripture story.”

Ekklesia begins at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at the church, 4747 U. S. 98 West in Santa Rosa Beach. All are invited to the gathering and childcare will be provided. For information, call 850-622-9191.

“The setting of Ekklesia will be intentionally different from the ‘church your mother went to’ and will be intentionally Christ-centered,” Greene said. “The time of gathering is chosen to appeal to people who work on Sunday, people who work on Saturday and want a convenient time to worship and people who are interested in an interactive, bold new worship opportunity.”

The project has been in Greene’s heart for about a year and in the works at Good News for nine months.

“The witness of many, many authors, pastors and just people on the street has brought me to the understanding that our task is to communicate God’s Word to, and into, the context of our culture,” Greene said. “If I were to go to China to teach I would learn the language, the customs, the beliefs and the history of the people. The mission field in Florida is no different. Good News has concluded that if we are called into the world to ‘make disciples’, we must first go, literally and in our community, and be ‘Christ for the world.’ We will do this to our best ability, realizing our human failings. We must also do this by remembering that ‘Christ did not come into the world to condemn it but to save it’ (John 3:17).”

The first message series will be from the Scriptural inspiration, Michael Belk’s Journeys With the Messiah.

“Michael is a local fashion photographer who has created a series of amazing photographs placing Jesus in our modern-day setting,” Greene said. “We believe Jesus is relevant, helpful, bold, informative and insightful to our current day issues. Michael has given me permission to use the images he has created as a place to enter the stories of Jesus. If I were using the image of Jesus carrying the equipment of the Nazi soldier I might talk about the paradox of a Jew carrying the equipment of a Roman soldier, Biblical story image, and how it is ironic that a Jew, in the photograph, is carrying the equipment of an oppressor and murderer of many Jews ... yet this is the nature of the Sermon on the Mount ... love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you. The disconnect between these commands and how we seem to live them out, in and out of the Church, is astonishing. You see where this could go ... we will let the Spirit take us to that place of learning and, hopefully, a better understanding of Christ. 

Belk will attend a mid-week meeting at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29 for a second presentation of Journeys with the Messiah. To view his photos, visit www.thejourneysproject.com.

The focus of the fall meetings will be to learn about the nature and character of Jesus. What did He say and do? What did He teach? Why do we still parse and misuse His words?  November will focus on the story of the wedding at Cana, including when the vats are empty, a story of God’s provision.

“We will even end the year on Christmas Day, a Saturday,” said Greene.

He said he hopes people will come to know Christ, know Jesus intimately, and “realize their calling to be the Ekklesia (the Church), choose to follow Christ's example of doing life, choose to become people who will make a positive difference in their families, relationships, and community, and have all the blessings Christ promised in the Beatitudes.

 “While we don't profess to know the long-term impact of Ekklesia, it IS a major event for Good News and, I believe, for our community.”