Why Doesn't Xenos Look Like a Church?

Why Do We Have Tables at Central Teaching?

In a nutshell, the tables help create a relaxed atmosphere that fosters learning and hanging out with friends! We've been experimenting over the last several months with moving the tables around to find what will make it as easy as possible for all guests to find a place to sit. Our most recent move is to create a more personal setting a little closer to the teacher.

Different on Purpose

People who are used to church traditions and rituals initially wonder "where's the cross?" or why doesn't our facility feel like a typical Western church?" These "omissions" are indeed very much on purpose.

Xenos is highly regarded as an innovative, teaching, first-century-style church by renowned Christian leaders like Os Guinness, Grant Osborne, Hugh Ross, J.P. Moreland and many others. We are truly happy to see Christians who have been looking for a new church home find fellowship here at Xenos, get involved in a home group, and become equipped and active in ministry.

However, our Central Teachings are designed to support the efforts of Christians sharing their faith, by creating an environment that primarily reaches non-Christians and unchurched Christians. We hope to reach people who are willing to give the message of Christ a serious hearing on its own merits in a setting free from cultural barriers. Many people have unpleasant memories from childhood of "going to church." Almost all church decorations, traditions and rituals are extra-biblical, meaning they have been added in over time by religious institutions, including the cross on the building or steeple.

The irony is that Christ died on the cross to fulfill all the Old Testament rituals, end the need for priests and liturgical ceremonies, and usher in a new way of relating to God through a personal relationship and a deepening understanding of his Word. Only two biblical rituals remain today—baptism and communion, both of which are practiced in Xenos within our home groups.

A Common Misconception

A common misconception is that the church building is holier than any other building. Many people also are confused by differences between the Old Testament temple and the New Testament church. Why was God so concerned about allowing only the high priest to enter the temple behind the curtain of the most holy place in the Old Testament?

Old Testament Temple

It sounds like God was confined to this place during OT times, when in fact, God was never confined to the temple. Many passages in the Old Testament state he was omnipresent, meaning he wasn't limited by space and time in any way. (See most of Job and Psalm 139:7-10 for examples.)

The reason only the high priest could enter the temple in the Old Testament is because the sins of mankind had not yet been paid for by Christ. The veil was a symbol of the separation between the sinfulness of men and the holiness of God. A blood sacrifice was necessary for the priest to enter into the holy of holies on the one day of the year in which it was permitted, namely the Day of Atonement after the Passover.

New Testament Temple

Ironically, when Christ was crucified on the Day of Atonement, the veil in the temple tore once and for all (Matthew 27:51), at the very moment of Christ's death when he cried "it is finished; it is paid in full." Christ's proclamation signifies that in the New Testament, the new temple is in people's hearts. We can have direct access to Christ through his Spirit because he has paid for our sins.

Jesus taught that his church goes wherever his people go. "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst" (Matthew 18:20).

The apostle Peter affirmed Christ's words in his teachings, saying that all Christians are "living stones being built up as a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5).