Less is More: Less Church Can Be More Too

I really LOVE Tony Morgan's blog post: The New Traditional Church !!!(http://tonymorganlive.com/2009/02/27/the-new-traditional-church/)

He expresses what I have felt for quite some time now about church. I feel as though our Christian culture has placed way too much importance on church. Please don't get me wrong, church is very important and I fully support it. But I just feel as though we have placed it almost as high as salvation....as though our salvation completely depends on church.

These days is seems as though to attend church is equivalent to being a Christian. If you miss church, people start to wonder about your faith's strength. If you bring up the idea of not attending church EVERY SINGLE Sunday, many Christians around will respond as though you have just uttered complete blasphemy.

But church attendance and being Christian aren't irrevocably linked. And the person who lives and sleeps at church is not more holy than the person who only attends one program a week.

It seems as though the mindsets of most Pastors and most Church Leadership is that it's vital for the faith of the members that people become more involved in church activities...Sunday service, then Bible Study, then Small Group, then volunteering, the list goes on....the more the better. It seems as though the general idea in church offices is that one of their greatest responsibilities is to get more people to do more church stuff or to get them to replace "other stuff" in their lives with church stuff.

I don't think it ought to be this way. Church isn't equivalent to our faith. Church simply aids it. And church isn't life. Again, it simply aids it. I believe that too much church CAN hurt one's faith.

Often times if someone is good at something, such a softball, for example, and this person plays for a local softball league....its seems as though the general idea is that if that person started playing for the church softball league instead it would be better for that person.
Or if someone can play the drums really well and plays for a local band, church people seem to always want that person to spend less time playing "out there" and more time playing in the church.
Or if a teen is dedicated to a sport, say, cheerleading so that she has to go to practice after practice and event after event, it's not unlikely that the Youth Leaders will express frustration and disappointment that the girl can't attend more youth functions. While I appreciate Youth Leaders wanting to see discipleship in student's lives, I'm addressing a different issue...the idea that church is at all times of greater importance than secular activities, and the mindset that God is not being glorified unless people are in church.

Why do we put this type of pressure or thinking in people?
Perhaps God wants that softball player to stay in his secular league because he is a Light for God to his team members, and perhaps those team members will never know about Christ unless he is there.
Perhaps God wants the drummer to stay in his band and not play for the church because he can reach the world there, and God has a purpose for him that will not be fulfilled if he is at church every night of the week.
And perhaps God wants the teenager to excel at Cheerleading so that she will become a professional at it, and be a Light for God through it one day!

But we seem to think narrow-mindedly that church is the only place for Godliness to occur. We live in fear of the world, as though God can only impact us when we are involved in everything-church-related.

I spent most of my life, schooling and extra-curricular activities in the Church and I honestly feel a little gypped...that I never interacted with non-Christian people enough to be a light for God to them, that I missed out on opportunities to excel personally, and became narrow-minded staying so isolated...and thus missed out on opportunities to be a vessel that God could work through.

Jesus didn't just isolate Himself to the temple and to the "righteous" people. In Mark 2:16, the Pharisees questioned about Jesus, "Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?" In other words, the Pharisees noticed that Jesus didn't act like they did: only interacting with "good" people and spending most of their time at the temple. I believe that when we only hang out at Church and with other Christians, we're more like the Pharisees than like Jesus.

Jesus heard the Pharisees' question and answered, "...I have not come to call the righteous but sinners" (Mark 2:17). Jesus came for the sinners so He put Himself in a place to reach out to the sinners.

Please also note that Jesus didn't just use the method of "witness night" where He created fun events at the temple to attract people there so He could then talk to them. Nor did He first plan to meet a bunch of "righteous" people at the temple steps so they could all go out and do official "outreaches." No, Jesus simply lived in the world, allowed Himself to interact with the world, purposefully got to know people intimately, went to their houses, got involved in their lives.

He didn't just do this as "official" outreach, He lived His life this way. I believe we should too. We should not limit our interaction with the world to official church outreaches or to the "witness events" that we plan at church. We need to go to church, but then we also need to simply be part of the world and allow our lives to mix with the world, to know people intimately and eat, live, walk with non-members on a regular basis. This is what Jesus did. I believe we should too.

Not only did Jesus set this example, but He called us to the same Commission. To go into the world and make disciples. When all we do is go to church and live at church, we're not fulfilling the Great Commission. Just going once a month to do 30 minute "outreaches" on the street is OK but I honestly don't believe this is all God called us to with His Great Commission. He called us to follow His example and be members of the world, to live beside "sinners," and be a light this way. First and foremost. And then to ALSO go on outreaches. I believe that to follow Jesus' example is to simply be in the world and not spend ALL our time isolated inside church walls.

I would love to see a church only have services every couple of weeks.
I would love to see a church community explicitly encourage families to find the "best fit" for them with regards to how often and how many church programs they attend...a combination that honors God the most in their lives.
I would love to see Pastors and Church Leadership understand that church is not the highest good in the lives of their members.
I would love to see a Pastoral Staff promote that God be glorified through members being "sent out" into their community - not by doing outreaches, but simply by individuals, families and friends joining in the community groups and activities that they're naturally inclined to - instead of through church participation.
I would love to see a Church Staff that understood, fully, how God's work in people's lives extends beyond church activities and into every cipher of life. Not just that God needs to be in every cipher, but that God IS there, and that church is not the only source of God for the individual.
I would love to see church evolve with this type of mindset!!!!

Don't Assume

I have read Jesus' "Parable of the Sower" hundreds of times in my life (see Mark 4:1-9 and Luke 8:4-8) and listened to numerous Bible Studies and Sermons on the subject as well. I always understood that the "good soil" was the Christian...and that the "wayside," the "stony ground" and the "thorny ground" were different levels of un-saved people out there who came in contact with the Gospel. Did you too?

Well, I got a new perspective.

Profile of the Lukewarm

The following blog is are excerpts taken from Crazy Love by Francis Chan:

It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hallow-hearted prosperity.

Frederic D. Huntington

"The feedback I received from other Christians reassured me that...I was good enough, 'godly enough.'

But this went against everything I was reading in the Bible, so I eventually rejected what the majority said and began to compare all aspects of my life to Scripture. I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don't swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. That's for the 'radicals' who are 'unbalanced'...Most of us what a balanaced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering."

Modern Day "Den of Robbers"

And Jesus found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.
When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned tables.
And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"

John 2:13-16

Recently this year, God opened my eyes to this verse in connection to modern day times and every time I read these verses since then...my blood pressure rises and I get a little angry too.

Christianity, in sooo many places and ministries around the globe, has become a business, a way to make money. Compassion, love for people, and love for God comes in second place - too often - to the pursuit of business endeavors. And the biggest problem is that often, when this happens, those doing it don't even realize that God has moved down the rankings in their lives and ministries. All that is being pursued just becomes normal, without regard, and seems to "make sense" without ever once realizing God and His Design for the ministry is no longer foremost.

Too often I've seen (and I bet you have too) ministries that sell their sermons "for a love offering of $100 or more" and etc. Too often I've heard Pastors declaring that if a "love offering" is given, the giver will receive a blessing from God. Do I even need to explain how this is bribery?!

Jesus specifically said, "Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" Why are we selling the Word of God for a huge price? Why are we selling the Way, the Truth and the Life for a large amount of money...as though only the rich can afford to know God?? But the truth is, it's not only the rich who will pay the price. There are always hundreds of people in tough, tough circumstances desperate for God to work miracles in their circumstances who will desperately want to know God and find His Truth, and they will pay with money that they don't have or can't afford to use. Why are we hurting these people further?! Don't you think God is absolutely appalled by the fact that His representatives are working on the emotions of others, who are desperate for Him, just to try fund their latest building project?!

I fully support Pastors and Ministers getting paid. I fully support that the materials being used and other church staff working on the materials get paid for. But does it really cost $100 to copy a sermon onto a DVD?! Does it really need to be sold for large profits?!

Moses set up the Law so that the Priests get good compensation for their commitment to God, and this was still in effect when Jesus entered those temple doors. This is not what Jesus was getting angry about. Jesus was getting angry about the excess, about the greediness, about those taking advantage of people who were anxious to please God!! God's representatives in God's temple...the very people who were trusted as God's own voice and heart were leading people astray with their agenda-bent ways. It was appalling enough to Jesus that He created a huge scene! It should infuriate us this much as well!! (When the disciples saw Jesus doing this, they recognized in Jesus a quote from Psalms 69:9, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." John 2:17)

Let's talk divorce

I think we've been misguided on the topic of divorce in the Church. We hold to the letter of the law without ever looking at the heart of God within the law. We see the big verses and get blinded to the surrounding verses and its context.

And the horrible thing about all this is that we marginalize so many within our churches and force many abused people to stay within horrible, Godless relationships that are completely dishonoring to God. And we tell these people that it's God's desire for them to remain abused and completely neglected (not in the slight, "Aw, shucks, I'm neglected" sense but in the intense truth that many people, specifically women, are utterly neglected in marriages and are told it's God's desire for them to be so!!). It's awful!

I love what Presidents Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter are promoting today in their new organization, The Elders: That religious leaders stop promoting that women be abused and discriminated against in the name of "God"!!(Read Jimmy Carter's article) I completely agree!!

I've re-looked at all the Scripture dealing with divorce and have found that what we teach in church isn't quite accurate. We're leading people away from God in the name of God.

I completely believe the truth that Malachi 2:16 states, "For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce." It's true. This is by no means in question.

But please look a little deeper. Malachi 2:15-16,

Heresy

"The difference between heresy and prophecy is often one of sequence. Heresy often turns out to have been prophecy—when properly aged."

Hubert H. Humphrey

Please be sure that I'm not promoting Godless directions with this quote. There have been many people

I want the glory back!

I've become tired of people-pleasing "churchiness" where God is just the excuse (of our own ways). The Glory of God has left and we don't even notice because we're so busy "playing church." I want the Glory back!
Look at 1st & 2nd Samuel and notice throughout how God's people today, The Church, is sooo similar to God's people in the Old Testament, the Israelites, in all of this!

Beginning with 1 Samuel 4: The Israelites are about to battle the Philistines and decide that the guaranteed way to win is to take the Ark of the Covenant (out of it's God-ordained location) to the battle field with them. They use God for their own desires. To their huge dismay and confusion, God let the Israelites be defeated that day and the Philistines capture the Ark.

When the Ark finally gets returned to Israel (not because they asked for it back or were even missing it), they just place it, to their convenience, in some random guy's house. God is put "on the shelf." (I Samuel 7)

The Israelites just keep doing their thing. Sure, they're following God's laws and doing life God's way...but they've left God out of the picture. They got the rules and boundaries down so they no longer need God. They become religious instead of God-led. Until they reach a problem, of course, then they go to God's prophet...but just for help in that one area, then they forget God again and just follow the laws and boundaries they know oh so well by heart.

God raises up a man after his own heart, David. But it even takes David years before he notices that the Ark isn't in its rightful place. When he finally does notice, he doesn't go to God and follow God's ways on how to get the Ark back to where it needs to be...instead David just uses "common sense." They got God's vision but then left God out of the "how to execute" plan because they ran ahead with their own "practical" ideas. Well..."common sense" kills a man (2 Samuel 6:1-10) so they again leave the Ark in some random guy's house, and go on with their lives again, dismayed and confused. They didn't ever stop to think that God's way of doing His will might be different to their own ideas. And when their ideas and common sense didn't work, they just gave up and walked away.

Months later when they hear that the guy housing the Ark is getting extremely blessed they decide to try, one more time, to put the Ark in its rightful place. This time around they finally think to find out God's way and do it accordingly. And they finally get the right perspective about all this - this time they want to truly honor God in how they transport the Ark. This time their approach is right - after 6 steps of moving the Ark they stop in gladness and thankfulness to honor God through sacrifice and dancing before Him. They honor God with every step as they take the Ark to Jerusalem...it's on this trip where David is soo happy that He dances naked in the streets! (2 Samuel 6) This time they didn't just want to use God and try to have Him back simply "because it's just the right thing to do," but they honestly desired Him, and felt honor and joy to be in His presence. And finally, the Glory of God is returned to Israel!

Doesn't this just sound like what we do these days at church? We take the time to find God's will and ways, and work to make sure we do them. But once they become routine we forget God and keep doing churchy stuff without ever consulting God or really putting Him in the picture. We sell out, even, by completely dishonoring God - and without ever realizing it too. God is on the shelf even in the middle of all that we're doing to "abide by His ways." When we know what's right in God's eyes, we do it but we use our own "common sense" to execute God's will. We haven't really taken the time to know God or hear from him in months or even years and yet we assume our "common sense" will get the job done right. Then when we fail, we get sooo confused and question everything. We question ourselves. We question God. We question life. But even in all this, we never take the time out to really hear God or know Him.

And this is where I think we find ourselves at large today.

Enough relying on our religious routines! Enough churchiness! It's time we "know Him" again and bring His Glory back into our churches!!

*This was brought to light by Louie Giglio's sermon at Passion City Church's 2nd gathering on March 22 in Atlanta, GA, where Louie Giglio talked about God's Glory.