A collection of folks at church has been going through a video series called ‘Basic’ after the post-worship fellowship time on Sunday mornings as the summer is winding down. The series features pastor and speaker Francis Chan, and interspersed with Chan speaking are snippets of a visual story that unfolds throughout the series. I’d had the DVDs for several years, but admittedly I’d never watched them all the way through until a couple of weeks ago as I was preparing to share them and help lead the discussions.

Chan’s messages are thought-provoking, challenging, and, at times, uncomfortably convicting. He calls those of us in the church examine what we’re doing, and why, and encourages us towards taking steps to drill down to the core of the gospel:

• fearing God
• following Jesus – i.e., actually doing what he taught
• truly believing in the power of – and submitting to – the Holy Spirit
• working to establish deep – and sacrificial – fellowship
• spurning popular opinions and feelings, and instead teaching based on the authority of scripture
• engaging in a Biblically-based model of prayer
• returning to more intimate practices of communion

In short, being the church as Jesus preached, and practiced.

The underlying video montages – all without dialogue – depict a story of discovery, and journey, and calling. At certain points along the way the viewer isn’t quite sure what’s going on (much like life), but at the end, the elements of the visual story tie together in a way that’s pretty compelling.

Chan’s message in the series would almost certainly sound harsh and out-of-step to those outside the church, but my guess is that it would also be a hard sell for a growing number of churches. I mean, heck, there are parts of me that respond with “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60).

But I think what he’s suggesting is worth pursuing. Intentionally. Deliberately. Doggedly, even. The church, and Christians, really don’t look all that different from the culture at large. And that’s not the church that Jesus intended. Unpopular though it may very well end up being, it’s time to get back to basics.