As we approach Resurrection Sunday I continue to think about how Jesus perceives today’s church. Is He pleased with the church? Sometimes I imagine Jesus sitting in heaven looking down at His church. I wonder if He shakes His head in amazement at what we have done to His church. I can see him shouting at us saying, “What are you doing? I never meant for you to do that!”
Is He pleased with the way we do praise and worship?
Is He pleased with our sermons?
Is He pleased with the way we invite people to become a part of our church family?
Is He pleased with the way we treat the homeless?
Is He pleased with our level of community work?
Is He pleased with our stewardship?
Is He pleased with the way we market our churches?
We have millions of Christian churches with an estimated 340,000 different Christian denominations. Within those denominations we have as many different ways of translating scripture and each denomination thinks theirs is the correct translation. This is not what Jesus intended. There is no unity in what we do or how we do it.
I love it when I see ministries working together. It doesn’t matter why they come together as long as it’s for something that Jesus said we should do: evangelism, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, praising God . . .
I wish there was more unity in the body of Christ.
I wish there were no doctrinal or theological differences.
I wish it didn’t matter what we wear to church.
I wish the Church was thoroughly integrated.
I wish we could worship by those famous words uttered by Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”
I’m going to get off my soapbox now. This is something that I have struggled with for years.
I believe there is a lot of love in the church and I believe we want to do the right things. But, we get so caught up in tradition, unnecessary drama and competing against our fellow churches. Jesus loved people and told them how to find everlasting life – and they came. No tradition, no drama, no competition.
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April 13th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I can’t help but think Revelation 3:15 applies to many churches these days… “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!”
I fear that the infighting that goes in both within the church and between churches is the result of being “lukewarm” in faith.
I find the more “on fire” I become for Christ, the less tolerant I am of the tradition – the drama and the competition.
I applaud your stance on your soapbox my dear!!! PREACH ON!!!
April 14th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Kathy, I think a lot of people struggle with the way we do church. Traditions are hard to break because we have so many sacred cows; and I just don’t get the competitive part. There’s enough work out there for everyone. Luke 10:2 tells us that the “harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.”