Programs in perspective

Brandon O'Brien shares some helpful thoughts on the place of programming in the church. Here's a sample:

In some circles, the term "church programs" has become an epithet for all that is wrong with the institutional church. For a generation hungry for authenticity and community, "programs" feel staged, impersonal, and cold. For a generation increasingly skeptical of government, big business, and corporate machinery in general, "programs" reek of institutionalism, bureaucracy, and insensitivity to human need. Programs may not be the problem, but they are certainly a symptom. They give us something to throw stones at.

To a certain extent, these feelings are justified.

Brandon goes on, however, to show how the book of Acts casts a good light on programs in the local church--if done along certain biblical lines. His article (and the book of Acts, of course) is worth reading.

And J.D. Hatfield, by the way, shares further insights from the same passage in Acts.