We got something interesting in the mail yesterday from a friend who attends our previous church. It was a photocopied page of a gospel hymn whose chorus says “Earnestly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling, O’ Sinner, come home!” At bottom of the page, the friend wrote I John 2:26, which says “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.”
The final comment was ““If Mark was alive – where would he go to church on Sunday morning? Mark was my youth minister as a teen, but more than that he was my mentor and friend. He was the most Godly man I have ever known. After a long battle with cancer, he passed away on Father’s Day 2005.
Apparently our friend believes we should come back home – to the “real church.” But as much as I love Mark, the real issue is where should I be going to church?
What did we look for in a new church family (those of you who have read Joshua’s Harris’s Stop Dating the Church will recognize some of these)?
- A church that values biblical truth, knows what it believes, and is guided by these beliefs in the way that it functions.
- Inspires me to apply the work of Christ practically in my daily life.
- Reaches out to the unsaved - locally, regionally, and globally.
- Seeks not only to believe rightly, but also to live rightly.
- Challenges me to be a disciple of Christ, not just a Christian.
- “Equips the saints for the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12).
For our family, our previous church family did not meet these criteria. Even though outwardly I acted differently, my personal experience at our previous church led to an apathetic attitude toward God and the church. I was a poser – a pretender in everything I did. My actions were nothing more than that. I had no relationship with God.
How can people have such varied experiences in the same church? Should we feel threatened when someone says “This isn’t the right church for me,” or should we be happy that they have found a church family that inspires them to become fully devoted followers of Christ? Does it have to be a bad breakup or can we still be friends?
Is there just one “real church” out there and everyone else is doing it wrong? Is the concept of a perfect church possible, or is it more likely that most churches/denominations fall short in one area or another?
8 comments:
Spiritual pride is a cancer and Jesus detested it with a righteous anger...i.e. His temple tantrums.
Jesus was a radical non-conformist in every area other than His obedience. I am not sure when it stopped being about if you believe God, and if you obey God, and if you serve God, and started being about what building you go to.
I recently read you can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right...it sounds like you took a faith risk.
We received a similar "notice" at Christmas time. Attached to the proverbial Christmas card that we receive each year from this couple was a yellow sticky note which said "you kids have broken our hearts." I did a double check with our marriage. No, we are not divorcing or separating, no we are not addicted to chemical substances or pornography, no we have not allowed our young children to attend R movies. What in the world had we done which constituted such strong language, "you kids have broken our hearts?" Oh of course, we switched churches. GOOD GRIEF. I wanted so badly to call them, and say you want a broken heart? I can give you one. The world is full of them: broken marriages, addictions; broken families; crime. Here is a couple with whom we should have credibility, intimacy. They should know us well enough (we thought) to know that if we changed churches, it must be the best thing for our family, it must have been a prayerful and Spirit filled decsions. He baptized my husband. Both of them mentored us before we were married. Now we make a decision to switch churches, a place where we believe we can best raise our children to love and know God, and suddenly we are no longer trustworthy. Go figure. Satan is the "father of lies." (John 8:44). He will fill our minds with fluff and puff as long as we consider our agenda or our "corner" of the religious market more absolute and righteous than Christ Himself. (Habakkuk 2:4) Paul, the apostle continually warned the new testament church about the dangers of boasting. He reminded them of what we should indeed boast in- two things: our weaknesses and the cross. Galations 6:14 "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." and 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." I am an imperfect person whose imperfect faith is challenged daily. But thank God, He is the "perfector of my faith," (Hebrews 12:1-3) not those who have made it their mission to pass judgement on other Christ followers. Judy McCarver
In many ways it relates back to the previous post - Church...The Way It Used to Be.
Among the Christian faith, particularly in certain denominations, there are those who believe that they are the only ones doing everything right.
They have a checklist of things to do, or more likely a list of things not to do.
My personal experience has been that these same churches have a relationship with God in their mind, but are missing the relationship of the heart.
Wasn't much of Jesus's life spent trying to "unlearn" that type of relationship?
In Matt22:37-40, when asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus responded "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Start with the heart and the mind will follow.
I totally agree. Circumcision of the Heart was a command from old (Jeremiah 9:26 and Leviticus 26:40-42) to new (Acts 7:50-52 and Colossians 2:10-13) Past to the presentt!
Judy McCarver
I was looking back at my notes from Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell and came across this quote from his book:
"The idea that everybody else approaches the Bible with baggage and agendas and lenses and I don't is the ultimate in arrogance. To think that I can just read the Bible without reading any of my own culture or background or issues into it and come out with a pure of exact meaning is not only untrue, but it leads to a very destructive reading of the Bible that robs it of its life and energy."
He goes on by talking about people who say their church is growing because they "just teach the Bible." As if other churches don't? What about the churches who are teaching the Bible, but are shrinking?
The church that is growing in numbers is probably growing for a lot of reasons, but the teaching-the-Bible reason is that they are teaching a particular understanding of the Bible. This version is striking a cord with people, so they are coming to hear more of this take on the Bible.
People today (in this post modern culture we live in) indeed are searching for something greater than this world can offer. I believe they want religion, are crying out for it. they want to know the Jesus we know, but they also want to be met exactly where they are. They don't want to have to "jump through 450 self-righteous loops" on their way to the altar. And if you require that of them, without tending to their wounds first and foremost, ultimately we wil just drive them farther away. And besides what did Paul, the apostle say about that in Romans 5:8 Jesus died for us, for our sins..."in that while we were YET SINNERS, Christ died for us!" Jesus doesn't require a questionnaire or a power point presentation on how we are going to "kick" our bad habits BEFORE he will save us. He wants us broken and contrite (Psalm 51:16-17) "in that while we were YET sinners, Christ died for us!" That word yet is operable here.
Judy McCarver
Wow, I am embarrassed that this happened to you. It totally blows me away. I am sure the individuals who send these things have the right motives, but have obiviously not seen the spiritual transformation you have went through Scott. You have God's fingerprints all over you! I'm enjoying your blog. Way to go!
David -
As always, good to hear from you.
I completely agree that the sender had only what they believed to be good intentions.
There is nothing like finding a church (and church family)that inspires you to realize God's vision for your life.
We all must seek out and find our own church - it doesn't have to be a one size-fits-all mentality.
While the sender thought we might be persuaded with the Mark reference, I still believe the question isn't where Mark would be, but rather "Where should I be?"
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