The Church…

Church.  What is church really?  Is it something we do?  Is it somewhere we go?  Why was it designed?  What has it been morphed into throughout the ages? 

I believe in what it is suppose to stand for…what it is suppose to be.  It is a body of believers who can humbly come together in unity and lift our voices in one accord to bring our Creator glory and honor due His name.  It is a place where we can bring our gifts, that God has so graciously bestowed upon us, and use them jointly to serve and encourage the body as a whole. It is something that is meant to magnify Christ, not bring attention to ourselves. 

But I fear that church has become so many things it was never intended to be.  Church is suppose to be a place where we come to empty ourselves out in order to be filled and used of the Spirit.  Yet, we come to “church” in order to be filled…in order to feel good…to be loved on…to be cared for.  We search for a church that entertains us, keeps our attention, leaves us with elated emotions.  We like a church for their good music, the pastor’s ability to move us with his words, the programs it offers our children, the fellowship it offers us.  We are seeking a church that can give us the most, that can meet all of our needs, and never disappoint.  Church has become all about us.  We come, we soak up what we can get out of it, we complain about what it doesn’t offer us, or what we don’t like about it, and then we lift our noses in the air and walk away, seeking something grander, better, more to our liking.  God forbid that we step up and give!  Never should we try and change the things we don’t like, love on the ones who we don’t agree with, fill the positions that we feel are lacking.  B/c we are there to be SERVED, not SERVE!  It isn’t about God’s glory, it’s become about our wants and how we think things should be.  So we whine and cry and complain and blame everyone else…squawking about until people stop trying to appease us or please us…then we turn our backs piously and move on, never stopping to think that maybe, just maybe, God wants us to get our feet dirty.  Maybe God wants us to jump in blindly and love and give and show Christ by example! 

I think our churches could be changed if we as Christians gained this mentality.   If we would stop judging the petty, and started loving without stipulations.  If we could wildly and vulnerably “let go” of all of US, and grasp hold of JESUS…the blessing would pour forth and it wouldn’t stop!   

Just some things I have been thinking about lately.  My heart hurts for the church.  I want to see God’s glory!  I want to move out of the way and let Him have His way!  This is my prayer this night.