New Generation at Worship Winter 1997

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The breathless slogan at the top said it all: "It's more than a restaurant … It's a ministry."

I held in my hand an advertisement for a new culinary establishment called "The Inner Circle." The copy underneath the restaurant logo read as follows:

THE FIRST ALL-CHRISTIAN RESTAURANT—NEW JERSEY'S NEWEST SPOT

FOR ELEGANT DINING, FUN & FELLOWSHIP—COME AND EXPERIENCE THE

FINEST INTERNATIONAL DISHES FROM CAJUN, PASTA, JAMAICAN, CHINESE &

SOULFOOD.

I paused briefly to consider the curious juxtaposition of "new jersey" and "elegant dining" before reading the rest of the ad. I discovered that the Inner Circle boasts a full schedule of activities. On

Thursday they have "Fellowship Happy Hour" from 4 to 6 p.m., followed by "Business Networking Night." Friday night, of course, is "Singles Mingle" night with a "Live Christian Jazz Band." But the

joint really starts hopping early on Sunday morning with "Breakfast Sunday School (Kids eat free)," followed by "Brunch in the Spiritual Realm."

My question is this: Is the Inner Circle more than a restaurant, or is it less than a ministry?

One good place to answer that question is in Jesus' prayer for the church. In John 17 Jesus prays to his heavenly Father on behalf of his church. His prayer is often called his "Great High Priestly Prayer" or "The Prayer for Unity." One of the striking things about the prayer is that Jesus mentions both what he is praying for and what he is not praying for. Although we sometimes forget them, the things Jesus did not pray for are just as important as the ones he did pray for. For instance, John 17:

15-18: "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world. . . . They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. … As you sent me into the ...

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