Friday, July 26, 2013

Having Fun Yet?

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

“So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase." – Acts 9:31

  He sat in the third pew every Sunday for the last 20 years or more.  Often times he was elsewhere though, at least in his mind.  The problems from the week would not naturally shut off just because he stepped through those two heavy doors at the back of the large sanctuary.  He stood when others stood and knelt when others knelt.  When the plate was passed, he made sure to put something in it, so those around him would see that he supported his church.  As the Pastor spoke, often times he would find himself looking at the clock on the back of the church waiting for the big hand to reach the top.  It wasn’t that he disliked church, he just wasn’t engaged in it and thought of it more as an action item each week rather than an experience.

When’s the last time you stepped into a church and actually experienced God there?  Have you ever?  Often times, as we’re leaving church I hear, “What a great sermon.”  Yet, when questioned they have no idea what it was about.  Throughout our life we’ve been coached on the right things to say and the right way to act around other “church folks”, but we have a completely different identity from Monday through Saturday.  Some more recent words I have heard to describe the Christian Churches in America: huge and impersonal, hypocritical, fake, good entertainment on a Sunday morning, funny, profit pool and even a guilt scam.  What have we done to the house of God in the 21st century? 

People are choosing their place of worship based on the entertainment value and how “good” they feel when they leave.  Church is not here to entertain us, and maintain our interest for 60 minutes a week.  Some people look at the church and say:  “It’s okay, I believe in God, I don’t need church to prove that.” or “Their all fakes anyway.  I’d rather stay at home and watch it on TV.”  It is the house of the Lord and the place where we go to commune with Him and the Holy Spirit.  A place where one can bathe in the presence of God and be filled with His love, wisdom and strength alongside of our brothers and sisters.  It is a place where we are free to worship our Creator and fellowship with others who are doing the same.  Can you worship God alone or in front of a television?  Certainly, and there is nothing wrong with that; but it was never designed to be a solitary faith, but rather a community faith.

It’s a shame that we have allowed the secular demands of this world to surround our heart and create the expectation that Church should be a place of entertainment.  We have allowed it to become a business rather than a service to the community.  There is nothing wrong with Mega churches in the world, as long as their purpose is pure and driven by worshipping and basking in the presence of God Almighty and not the cash register.  These Mega churches require a substantial operating budget though and in many cases the business and profit side of the operation have overtaken the ministry side.  This is commonly a Western development though.  There are churches in remote areas of the Far East, that are 10x or even 20x the size of a mega church here in America, and there is no coffee served; or a book store; or a playground; or a glass building; or even chairs for that matter.  Millions of people gather to worship, pray, learn and grow in their faith without the fanfare, pomp or circumstance that often overshadow His presence in our culture. 

I propose we get back to the roots of our calling and church become a service to mankind rather than coddling to their insatiable appetite for entertainment.  I propose that you step into your local church this weekend having prepared your heart to worship God, rather than sit through it.  Seek the Holy Spirit, draw close to Him, experience His presence and leave a stronger, changed and prepared disciple of God the Father, ready to serve mankind for Him.  In the early church, Paul, Peter, Timothy, Mark and others would gather together with those of faith and those not of faith and they would actually worship His name, study His word and learn more about the God they served.  That is church, and it doesn’t happen on your couch, in your living room, at iHOP or on the golf course.  It doesn’t happen just being on the church campus sitting at the coffee shop, or in the bookstore.  You have to dive into it to experience it.  Take the step this weekend won’t you?


             
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