CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Is it written somewhere in the Bible that people must get gussied up for church?

No, it is not.

So Jim Butcher preaches in blue jeans.

"The Bible never indicated the need to dress up to go to church. What God says he wants isn't what you wear. It's what's in your heart."

Is it written somewhere in the Bible that church services must follow a certain routine? All that singing? So many readings? All those rituals?

No, the Bible mentions none of that.

So why do we do it?

"Because it's always been done that way," Butcher said.

That's the kind of thinking he hopes to change.

Inspired by a big nudge from God, the 39-year-old pastor has started a new kind of church aimed at the disenchanted.

"A lot of people out there are not totally closed to God, but they struggle with the way church is done," he said. "I want people who have given up on God or people who have given up on church or people who don't think the Bible makes any sense."

 Pastor at the Poca Baptist Church for 12 years, Butcher resigned last July to work on a concept presented to him through prayer. "Part of this whole thing was answering a question: How can we do church that is both biblically faithful and culturally relevant?"

He spent three years rereading the New Testament. "I wanted to know how much of what we do is tradition and how much is biblically mandated," he said. "The answer is that most of it is tradition. The Bible leaves a lot of things open because God is smart and knows that worship needs to be relevant to different cultures in different times.

"It had been a burden in my heart for a long time that a lot of churches are just going through the motions. Eighty percent of the churches in America have reached a plateau or the membership is declining. They aren't reaching people in a very effective way."

New concepts jelled as he examined accepted definitions of a good Christian. "In a lot of churches, it's someone who shows up Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday evening. But you can show up three times a week and never serve, never read the Bible and never do anything that shows spiritual growth. Showing up is not bad, but it's not sufficient. And if that's not the standard, what is?"

No, it is not.

So Jim Butcher preaches in blue jeans.

"The Bible never indicated the need to dress up to go to church. What God says he wants isn't what you wear. It's what's in your heart."

Is it written somewhere in the Bible that church services must follow a certain routine? All that singing? So many readings? All those rituals?

No, the Bible mentions none of that.

So why do we do it?

"Because it's always been done that way," Butcher said.

That's the kind of thinking he hopes to change.

Inspired by a big nudge from God, the 39-year-old pastor has started a new kind of church aimed at the disenchanted.

"A lot of people out there are not totally closed to God, but they struggle with the way church is done," he said. "I want people who have given up on God or people who have given up on church or people who don't think the Bible makes any sense."

 Pastor at the Poca Baptist Church for 12 years, Butcher resigned last July to work on a concept presented to him through prayer. "Part of this whole thing was answering a question: How can we do church that is both biblically faithful and culturally relevant?"

He spent three years rereading the New Testament. "I wanted to know how much of what we do is tradition and how much is biblically mandated," he said. "The answer is that most of it is tradition. The Bible leaves a lot of things open because God is smart and knows that worship needs to be relevant to different cultures in different times.

"It had been a burden in my heart for a long time that a lot of churches are just going through the motions. Eighty percent of the churches in America have reached a plateau or the membership is declining. They aren't reaching people in a very effective way."

New concepts jelled as he examined accepted definitions of a good Christian. "In a lot of churches, it's someone who shows up Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday evening. But you can show up three times a week and never serve, never read the Bible and never do anything that shows spiritual growth. Showing up is not bad, but it's not sufficient. And if that's not the standard, what is?"

He found answers in the Book of John. "In three places, Jesus says what we must do to be a true disciple. In John: 8, he says, 'If you abide in my word...' In John: 13, he says, 'If you love one another...' In John: 15, he says, 'If you bear fruit...' He means spiritual fruit, touching somebody's life."

Those directives gave him a formula for change. Abide in my word? "We need to know the Bible so we can learn about God," he said. Love one another? "We can be nice on a Sunday morning, but loving happens in small groups where you get to know what goes on in people's lives." Bearing spiritual fruit? "That's serving someone. God gives us gifts. We need to use them to serve God."

With no money and no people, Butcher gave up his pulpit at the Poca Baptist Church to take a leap of faith. Membership in his new church started with six - Butcher, his wife, their four children. "I prayed to God and told Him, 'We have stepped out in faith. You need to supply us with people.' And people started approaching wanting to hear more. We didn't take anyone from the Poca Baptist Church."

The fledgling flock of the NewPoint Church (25 members and counting) congregates each Sunday at Hurricane High School. They don't want a traditional sanctuary. "That's part of the vision God gave me," Butcher said. "We're never going to buy land or build a building. One of the biggest expenses a church has is the building. We're not saying it's wrong to have one. We're just saying if we can get by without one, it will give us more to spend on people's needs."

In the nick of time for Christmas, he's planning an official all-comers launch at the 10:30 a.m. service next Sunday.

Interested guests can expect the unexpected. "Elements of the service change from week to week," he said. "We minimize singing, just a song or two. We may show a video that ties into the point I'm trying to make. We do an object lesson for the kids. During the sermon, I may stop for some discussion."

He gears services around a single spiritual truth, "something I want everyone to understand. I give a spiritual challenge for that week. I give everyone an object to take with them as a reminder of that spiritual challenge."

On a recent Sunday, for instance, he sermonized on "Jesus Junk," religious novelties that advertise faith. "We talked about all the outward things people do, T-shirts, bumper stickers ... It's not that they're wrong. The point is, what is going on in your heart? After the service, I gave out Faith Pops, suckers with scripture verses on the wrapping, and challenged them to think about all the outward stuff in relation to what's going on in your heart."

A Huntington native, the unconventional pastor graduated from Huntington High School in 1987 and earned undergraduate and master's degrees in political science from Marshall University. "I wanted to be a lawyer," he said, "but God had another idea."

Accepted at three law schools, Butcher chose WVU and made it through the first week before God pulled him away. "I had a sense within me that I should be doing what I'm doing now," he said. "I tried hard to pass it off, but I could not get peace. I always sensed that law school was the wrong choice."

Finally, before he got too deep into law school, he surrendered to the call and enrolled at Louisville Southern Seminary.

The call to start a new church evolved in much the same way. "Three years ago, I was at the dinner table and God spoke deep in my heart and asked me for a sacrifice. I wish I could say I said 'yes' immediately. After months of prayer, I knew that if I truly believed, I had to trust Him. Once I said 'yes,' He revealed that the sacrifice He was asking of me was to leave the warm and comfortable Poca Baptist Church to start a church for people who have given up on God."

He talks about the project with the zeal of, well, a preacher: "I'm pumped. I'm excited. I can't wait to see what God is going to do. I think we will be successful because God asked me to do it."

For information about the new church, call 542-5585.

Reach Sandy Wells at 343-5173 or e-mail san...@wvgazette.com.