I had conversations recently with two friends who both made similar comments about the current state of churches.
C: “I feel at a loss. All you hear at the black churches is a prosperity gospel, tithing [which he thinks does not apply to the Christian and seems to be self-serving], or a persistent focus on how messed up our lives are. Nobody seems to be focused on a kingdom message. I feel like there is no place I can go.”
K: “Since we have been talking about what kind of church that would be interesting to attend, I feel like I can no longer go to a church and be satisfied.”
Interstingly, I consider both of these people to be active seekers and followers of Jesus. How is it that the churches have come to this place where people like this feel like they are out of step?
Dallas Willard may be on to something. He likes to ask this question of pastors and churches, “Does the gospel that is preached naturally lead to discipleship?” He means something very specific by the term discipleship. The term has become a church word that has lost its meaning. I blogged about some of my thoughts about discipleship way back there somewhere.
What the heck is going on? Is this what Jesus meant when he said the path is narrow, so narrow that few find it? Does it mean that without searching, we won’t find what we are looking for? Jesus also said that the church would become so large that the birds will come light on its branches, the goats will mingle with the sheep, and the weeds would grow among the wheat. What does this mean? Should we not expect so much from the visible, institution of church and look more for the movement of the invisible church wherever it may be?
I just know for me, I don’t want to waste my time. I know I can spend some quality MUG time on my back deck and sense the presence of God on Sunday morning. What is missing is community. I know I get that with my Under Construction pack. I know that I will continue to look for community wherever it can be found. It will be good wherever I find it, whether that is in a church or outside of a church.
5 comments:
The bar seems to be set way to low. The question that I want to ask my community is "What significant changes must I make to simplify my life and spend more time on living/serving in God's Kingdom". In many Christian circles when you ask this question, you quickly get encouraged with what you are doing. I don't want to settle for where I am at, but I need help to push back the distractions of this society that is intent on entertaining itself to death. The truth is the changes that are needed are radical. I need others to make the changes with me because I am weak. Where is my trust in God?
We also need to be careful about setting the bar too high in our minds. I need to be careful to not defining the church right out of existence. In the post I said, "It will be good wherever I find it, whether that is in a church or outside of a church." I would settle for a church where it can be easily found within the church.
* I would settle for a church where kingdom community can be easily found *
Is that too much to ask?
To me that would not be settling. That would be exciting.
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