Rebranding the ChurchSample

Third Places

I like to patronize local businesses, so I went to a newly opened seafood spot. I looked at the menu, which was amazing. I asked for a seafood salad. They said they didn’t have it. I asked for shrimp. They said they didn’t have it. I asked, “What do you have?” They said that all they had was chicken and fish. I thanked them and walked out. That establishment didn’t have in stock what they advertised. They should have just been called something like “So-and-So’s Chicken and Fish.”

Many churches participate in false advertising. They say they have forgiveness, but they only have bitterness. They say they have love, but there is vicious backbiting. They say they have kindness, but they are overrun with cliques.

In Revelation 2, John says to the church in Ephesus, “I have this against you: You have aban­doned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4, CSB). The church today is in danger of losing its first love. Losing our first love isn’t just about neglecting Bible reading and devotional life. It is about our affection for God and people, from pastoral care to mercy ministry. Like the church at Ephesus, we are often sound in doctrine but unsound in love.

The church should be a community of communities, a city within cities. Our light must find its way into the structures of society. We are to go to into the arts, business, agriculture, government, medicine, and sports. We do that in our vocation, but we also do that in “third places.”

Third places are the places where we want to relax and have fun. First place is home, and second place is work, but a third place is where you desire to build relationships and engage people without any formal responsibility, such as in coffee shops, sporting leagues, and entertainment venues.

If Paul used letters, ships, donkeys, and Roman roads to share the gospel why aren’t we using whatever redemptive means we have available to do the same? We are called to be gospel innovators to advocate for the rule of Christ on earth. Remember, you aren’t the church by yourself; we are the church. The church is a com­munity of believers, and God uses community to deepen our faith and launch us into the world on mission for Him.

What “third places” do you frequent? How could you share the gospel there?