This phrase should be eliminated from my vocabulary. I know this may seem like an extreme action towards what could seem like such an innocent little phrase. I mean how many times have I said it myself and with no real thought to what I am saying. But honestly how twisted have we made our concept of church. In our culture you "go" to church instead "be" the church and this misconception is making us a joke. The mindset Consumerism has forced or seduced (i'm not sure which one) us into making church a competitive sport. Who can put together the best band with the best song list paired with some nifty audio/visual bit to tug on people's heart strings followed by the most charismatic, entertaining speaker we can find. Because as we all know without a gifted communicator there really is no hope having a "big church" followed by that big tithe. I'm not saying that services done at high level are a bad thing, but when that becomes where the resources of the church are spent that is a problem. When a group of believers are spending millions of dollars and thousands of hours making their buildings comfortable and their auditoriums perfect we have missed the calling of what it means to be the church. Don't get me wrong, I think musicians should play and play well, to lead us in a musical form of worship. Teachers should teach and teach well, helping us discern the Word of God and how it applies to us. But when we are gearing everything we do at worship service to draw in more people, something is off. When we are depending on a service to meet needs instead of ourselves, something is off. When most church "go-ers" spend more time complaining about the volume level of the music, song selection, children's ministry, or sermon than they do feeding the homeless and taking care of orphans, something is off. When church leaders treat their church community as their own personal empire, something is off. When the church body is dependent on their church leader in order to grow in Christ, something is off.
I know my complaining and bit of ranting about issues I see in the church makes me no different than those I have issue with. I just know that Christ did not live the life He did, die the death He did, and come back to life for His followers to congregate in our comfortable buildings, nitpicking about nonsense. He invites is into a life where we lay it all down so others can experience Him. He invites into a life where we participate in the restoration of creation, to life where we love each other so fiercely that the lost and hurting are drawn to us. I simply suggest that being a follower of Christ requires to do just that follow, not sit, not complain, but get up and follow Him.
In no way am I naive enough to think what I am saying is easy, it will be difficult, but it will be worth it. We will get hurt, but He will heal our hearts. It will be uncomfortable, but we will not be bored. So I ask, if you are a Christian, are you following or sitting?
PS.
If following Christ leads you to participate in a community of believers that gathers together and enjoys a high level service, I think that's great, just please don't get caught up being an observer instead of a follower of Christ.
Best blog post yet. This was epic.
ReplyDeleteMy friend, and I do hope that is what I am, please allow me to offer some thoughts...mainly because I've been right where you are. After the same dissatisfaction you express, our Lord spoke to me rather unkindly. He did so, I suppose due to my feelings escalating to the visceral..God simply told me to change my expectations of church..He told me that my criticism of people looking to the church to fulfill my needs, and then suggesting a 'fix', was ironically a statement that the church was not meeting my needs....Then He proceeded to show me that I was expecting too much from N.H., that I only spent less than 1% of my time there (do the math) and why would I criticize what I did 1% of my worshipping life? He showed me that musicians, our pastor, the elder team, etc, are all themselves in a process...sometimes getting it right, sometimes not, but in all of it God pointed out that they seldom hesitate to humble themselves when wrong. He kept on telling me that my church was my sphere of influence, that Sunday morning was my challenge to worship Him in spite of any distraction, that the church was not responsible for creating an atmosphere that fit me.
ReplyDeleteIn all of it, our Lord set the bar for how 'good' anything is..."ye shall be judged by your fruits"...and that took all my opinions and killed them...The fruits of our church are plentiful...my fruits were not.
Brother, I railed against the 'seeker sensitive' sermons, the clique of leaders, the loud band, the lack of intimacy, etc etc etc....God said, 'I am with you no matter what kind of church you are in."
this was a hard thing to hear. And I found many people that fed my dissatisfaction, mainly to further their own agenda....
I know you well enough to know that you are a man of God. You care, you love people, and you want the best for them. I admire your passion and your heart, and as I've told you before, 'you remind me of me"....we've had that conversation. My point here is not to criticize you..everything you say is correct, to a point...I'm just trying to lessen this pain you feel by putting things into perspective, to look at it as God might, and ultimately share the words He gave me before I almost left the church.
I love you brother with all my heart. I care about what you feel. I pray that this is taken in the spirit intended, not any other way.
Lee
a.freakin.men josh!
ReplyDelete@ Lee
ReplyDeleteMy frustration is definitely not aimed at New Hope, or any other specific body of believers, but towards the American evangelical spectator, meet my needs attitude that has taken over our churches. I hear some many stories of people leaving their community over the most ridiculous things.
I love New Hope and I know our people consistently lay their lives down for others. This post was speaking in broad strokes. I definitely receive anything you say in friendship and respect.
Well said. It's obvious that this has been on your heart for a while. I hope that our small community of believers can achieve something greater than a killer praise and worship set. After all, God never asked us to achieve a killer praise and worship set.
ReplyDelete--Kyley
"It will be uncomfortable, but we will notbe bored."
ReplyDeletethis sealed the deal for me Runnelsman. I think that so much of what u said is right on.
@smiley....you are 100% correct, God never asked us to achieve killer praise and worship set..neither did He ask us not to. Just a personal opinion mind you, and not one I project on others, but for me alone, I believe Satan loves criticism of the church from the inside. Can we criticize methods/styles of worship? Of course we can, but never at the expense of not being able to find God anywhere, everywhere, and especially in spite of style. I would like to think that I could walk into the most blatantly corporate setting found, watch the greediest, most corrupt pastor get up and preach, and still know that
ReplyDeleteGod's word spoken to me is more powerful than any worldly deception. If I feel the intent is unholy, then I dont go back. But neither do I label it. The pastor may be corrupt, but the message is not. What man meant for evil God intends for His good purpose.
I am not targeting the judgment of some churches, I only ceased judging places I dont know well, or pastors I dont know intimately, or leadership cliques that might not be cliques at all, just the product of a like minded group of people.
The sowers will be convicted, the sowers will be judged by our Lord, but the seed they sow, the words from the Bible, are still good for producing fruit, and the soil they are sowed upon will be rocky, thorny, or fertile regardless of the sower, regardless of the integrity of the church. Our Lord specifically states that whatever creates internal dissent is displeasing to Him. Jesus criticized the priests, but He criticized them only after "knowing their hearts", and He accused them only after an attempt at reason, "if you will not believe the things I have said in My Father's name, will you not believe the things I have done in His name?"
I agree with all concept and theory of this blog, and often share it. I have however learned to pray for these churches, asking God to reveal the Truth to them, in His timing, then I step out of His way. He knows, He's dealing with it, He'll take care of His children.