As I sit on my couch this beautiful, sunny, Sunday morning watching Veggie Tale’s rendition of the story of Gideon with my son, I can’t help but ask myself a few questions. What has happened along the way that I feel a bit guilty about not “going to church?” Then, what has happened that we feel like our entire christian existence is defined by roughly four hours a week in which we are barricaded in our nice, air conditioned, or heated sanctuaries?
I know I’ve harped on some of these things before, but I feel like it’s one of those things that, sadly, we as christian people just accept as the norm. We are supposed to go to church. When did we get to the point where we stop asking questions? More importantly than asking questions about doing things the same old way, I think we must start asking questions about what part we play in the larger story of what God is doing in this world. And we’ve got to get away from this idea that God’s story is something we grab hold of and once we “get it,” we transcend this nasty worldly dwelling, only to be taken up to our mansions in glory.
First things first. I am unaware of any passages in scripture that talk about the Kingdom of Heaven as being a far off, other-worldly place. Nearly every example of the Kingdom in scripture is refers to something that is near, happening now, even something that we participate in inagurating. Christ’s desire, it seems, much like the character of God throughout the old testament, is that there is a holy, chosen people who show the world who God is; a God of justice and holiness, who hears and responds to the cries of the oppressed.
So, how does that translate into language we can understand today? And what does that have to do with me sitting on the couch feeling guilty about not “going to church?” Just this. I was having a conversation with a good friend a couple weeks ago and something he said resonated with me. He has been raising up a team to plant a new church and as we talked he said, “I’m not much for meetings. They distract us from making disciples.” How true. Now, we were both specifially referring to the “church” meetings or gatherings that we have come to believe are necessary. But, here’s another thought. I don’t think anyone could argue that the purpose of God’s church is to be salt and light here on earth. Now, God has set forth a mission and he wants a church to carry it out (thanks A.C.). God’s mission is the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7), orphans and widows (James 1:27), the oppressed of society (Duet. 14:29, Psalm 146:9, Isaiah 1:17 among others). You must understand I am not arguing against the organized religion that we know today, but we must honestly ask ourselves, how many of these folks mentioned above are in our church buildings on any given Sunday morning? We western christians have been great at planning a clean, attractive program and inviting folks to “come to us!” Are we really that far off?
When did the way of Christ go from families meeting daily, with glad and sincere hearts, and none having any need (paraphrased Acts 2) to staring at the back of a stranger’s head for an hour a week? Are you following me? I’ve said this before; I firmly believe that if we honestly and humbly follow the Way (of Christ) we will have a much easier time showing this world who our God is. Not being people who “have it all figured out,” or feel the need to “fix everyone around us,” rather, we are people who don’t have all the answers. We are people who are willing to bend and flex for the sake of the lost. We allow ourselves to be molded by God. I would even go so far as to say we need to seriously consider the importance of all of our “church meeting/gatherings.” I think we should probably figure out how to push the reset button when it comes to our understanding of the church Jesus is referring in scripture.
We must take a more humble stance when we when enter into God’s story, His Word. We need to ask him for fresh eyes, to see this world as he does. Not as we understand him to be seeing the world, but as He really does. And if we can find our way to this place, I have a feeling life, not just church, will be totally different.
