A Moment of Reflection

I'm sitting here late on a Sunday night alone with my thoughts. You see, a friend from my college days passed away in a tragic hiking accident a couple days ago. Jeff was a great guy. Funny. Reliable. Intelligent. And a quick draw with a witty comment. One thing you were sure of when you were around him: you were going to laugh. He was the kind of guy that anyone would be comfortable being around. (If you'd like to get to know a little of Jeff, he's got some awesome thoughts in his blog.)

We weren't best friends, and we didn't keep in touch after our days at VFCC, but I find the news of the last couple days particularly heart-wrenching. I mean, certainly, and foremost in my mind, my prayers go out to his family. I can't imagine the pain of their loss. But so many other things have crossed my mind in the last 36 hours as well.

More than any other thought, and as is often the case in situations like this: "Why?" Such a small word with such far reaching implications. The problem is that I have no answer. And I never will. There is nothing I could say that would ever be good enough to give reason to the unimaginable. So I say nothing. It's not hopelessness, I know Jeff is celebrating with Jesus tonight. I know he is infinitely happier than I can even imagine. But somehow, though I hope, it does little to comfort the immediate pain of loss.

And it makes me think about those I'm much closer to. Do I appreciate them? Do they know how much I love them? Would I have regrets?

I'm seeing all of the pictures of family in my house as if it were the first time I've looked at them. The sign above the archway to the hall that reads "Count Your Blessings". In the quietness of this hour, I miss the sounds of my children laughing and screaming and playing. Am I a good father? Will they be okay if something happened to me? Am I living my life so they see Jesus in me? God, I hope so. Please let it be. Help me.

The best I can do in moments like this is to cling to my faith and the hope I have in Christ. Some would say I'm a fool, that events like this make me crazy for believing in God at all. The fact is, it's that very belief that keeps me from going crazy. Without the knowledge that God has my life and my future and those of my loved ones, in His hands, regardless of what happens, I WOULD lose my mind. I would drown in the hopelessness of it all. But my hope and my strength are in the Lord. This life is not a mystery to Him. He's bigger than my grief. And His plan doesn't end when we draw our last breath.

"Jesus said..."I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."" - John 11-25-26

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am." - John 14:1-3

Jeff, you will be missed. The outpouring of love I've seen online alone is a testimony to your life. We're all better for having known you! You are loved here, and now you know the infinite love of your Creator perfectly. See you soon buddy.

Stop Going to Church

Seriously. It's an epidemic. People all over the world are going to church. Some even go to church EVERY Sunday!

It's got to stop.

No, I'm not crazy. I haven't set up my tent in the atheist camp (I wonder if there are s'mores...), and I'm not saying I want everyone to sit at home on Sunday mornings.

So what am I saying?

Be. Don't go.

Please hear me on this. This isn't just a matter of semantics. Our vocabulary reveals where we've got it wrong. Don't go to church. Be the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ, not a building. The Church is a living community that supports, cares, prays, mourns, and fellowships with its members, not a group of individual strangers. The Church is seven days a week, not an hour on Sunday. You can't GO to something you ARE.

God designed us for community. Certainly we each have an individual relationship with our Creator (if you don't know what I'm talking about, shoot me a message and we can talk), but we were never designed to live out our faith alone. We have a responsibility to each other. We need each other.

In general, Americans are highly individualistic. We prize our independence, our privacy, our freedom from anyone butting into our lives. It's like it's in our DNA. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, especially as it relates to the interaction between the citizens and the government, where I believe less is more. Unfortunately we bring this thinking with us into our relationships with other Christians. We celebrate our individual salvation in Christ, and rightly so, but we neglect our corporate faith. We like to show up on Sunday and get our God time in for the week and feel good about the worship, maybe throw a few dollars in the offering plate, say a few platonic "Hi"s and "How are you"s and think that's fellowship. Man, there's so much more!

God wants to blow your mind. He wants to turn your paradigm upside down. That previous paragraph? Me. I mean through and through. If anyone ever played the church game, it was me. And I didn't even realize it. I knew there had to be more, but I never looked for it. And I don't think many of us do. We tend to think we receive our salvation and then going to church is what a Christian does. We (sometimes) try our best during the week, then show up on Sunday looking for a recharge. How would our lives, our families, our communities, and our world be different if we really grasped God's purpose for the Church?

ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) is the Greek word that is translated to church in our Bibles. With our line of thinking nowadays we read "church" in a verse and may think it's where we go, not who we are. The word would be better translated as "assembly" or "congregation". In other words, and in the context used in Scripture, a local gathering of believers. The word "church" today is too ambiguous because it can mean so many things. The intended meaning was very clear for the writers of the New Testament. The Church is the people.

It really comes down to an active vs. passive role of the Christian. We aren't called to show up on Sunday morning to listen or watch someone else do the work of God. WE are called to do it. All of us. Not everyone is called to be a pastor, but everyone is called to ministry. As a pastor, my role is not to entertain, it's to equip. There's nothing super spiritual about it. God simply designed me to come alongside others and help them recognize the unique passions and gifts He has given them and to develop those for use in the Body of Christ and to the world. What are you passionate about? Where has God gifted you? We each have a responsibility to help build the Church. We do this by ministering to and serving each other according to our gifts and we each have a sphere of influence in our world (workplace, family, community) where we are responsible for living out our faith in word and action. God builds His Church through its people. And let me say one thing about Church growth. It's about health as much as it is about numbers. A healthy Church (group of believers committed to God and each other) will grow. But a growing church (more people sitting in the pews) is not necessarily healthy. But that's a whole other post...

Let's take a quick look at what the Bible teaches about the Church:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

This is an extraordinary picture of the early Church. But I think we sometimes try to pattern ourselves after what they did instead of who they were. I think if we take a look at Paul's teaching we get a picture of the way we are to function as a Church, and then the things we see listed in Acts begin to come naturally.

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don't need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Paul then goes on to describe different functions and gifts of those in the Church with what I believe is an emphasis on diversity within the context of unity. All the gifts and functions are to be exercised with the overarching principle of love. We are all members of one body, governed by the love of God and each other, and we each have different gifts we bring to the table. Unity, not uniformity.

The body imagery is also explored in Romans 12 where Paul says something that sounds incredibly foreign to us. In verse 5 he says:

“...in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

We belong to each other? A crazy thought, but a clear teaching. We all have different gifts that we are expected to exercise to build each other (as the Church) up. And just as in 1 Corinthians, Paul emphasizes in Romans that the governing principle is love. Here's what it looks like:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves....Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality...Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” Romans 12:9-10, 13, 15-16

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

You've probably read those a million times, but take a look again. God's greatest commands are to love Him and to love each other. Do we really love (see above) each other? When we start doing that as a body of believers, as a Church, the model of the early Church in Acts 2 doesn't seem so out of reach. And just in case you still doubt that every Christian is designed and expected to take part in this body, take a look at Hebrews. The writer speaks of what Christ did for us and then spells out five things that we should be doing in response:

“...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:22-25 (emphasis mine)

The first two are aided by life in the body. The last three are impossible without it.

Scripture is clear on what (read who) the Church is (an assembly of believers). It's clear on how we, as the Church, are to act (as members of one body, in love). And it's clear on what the result of that is (growing together and increasing in number).

Stop going to church on Sundays. Start being the Church with other believers. Meet together as the Church, not at the church. And celebrate who God is, and who we are. Then live that reality to a dying world.