the humdrum church

i wonder how often we do things just because we've always done them. how many times have we given our 10% on sunday mornings just becuase it's what you're "supposed to do". for goodness sake, it's what a "good christian" does... right? or have you ever stood up in church to sing a hymn because everyone else was standing to sing? have you ever taken communion and not examined your heart before doing so? do you even know what communion symbolizes? i mean, you take the bread and the "wine", or grape juice in good churches because christians don't drink wine, much less drink wine in church, and we take these elements, we chew, swallow, and then it's done???

we could sit and go through countless rituals that we participate in on a regular basis. some every sunday, some every quarter, some once a year. the point is that we do so much stuff because we've always done it and because our parents did it. have you ever wondered why some churches are so stale on sunday morning? ever wondered why sometimes church is incredibly boring? let's be honest here, some churches feel more like being in prison than having freedom.

have you ever wondered why we do some of the things we do as christians? no, no, no.... my mistake... if forgot that we don't question the church. because questions are bad. where did all of these rituals and traditions that we participate in on sundays come from? and what would people think if you didn't stand up and sing the first hymn, but instead you sat with your head down and prayed for God to prepare your heart for that day? am i saying that traditional church is wrong.... NO. my question is this: WHY DO WE DO THE THINGS WE DO IN CHURCH, OR IN THE NAME OF THE CHURCH?

have we reduced walking with God down to a list of rituals and traditions that have somehow come to be "the way" to commune with Him? did you know that 80% of christians say that they can't remember the last time they truly felt connected to God... 80%!!!!

why is that?




maybe, one reason, is because every sunday is the same old thing.
you get to church,
sing your first song,
then a prayer,
then another song,
then meet and greet time (if you're at a baptist church),
the a couple of more songs, but no more than three because that would put us past our alotted time to be in church,
then a prayer so the band sneak off of stage magically without anyone seeing and the pastor can come up to the pulpit,
then the message comes with it's 3 points that all start with the same letter or rhyme or something to help you remember,
then prayer,
an alter call (again a baptist thing),
and here is where we switch it up, some do an offering now along with anouncements, others just a song and you're done.

wow, what a glorious treat. i don't want to sound like i think the church is doing things wrong, because God definitely teaches me on sundays, and He is definitely present. i am simply curious as to how much we limit Him when we give 25-35 minutes to speak through a pastor and a total of 50 minutes to an hour to work in our lives one day a week.

let's face it, for many of us our spiritual life exist on sunday mornings only... which is a prime reason why christianity has the wrap it does. so many people claim christianity but have no clue what Christ was about. some of us support oppression. some of us support murder by way of execution. some of us support peace by way of war. some of us look the other way so we don't see the poverty stricken, the homeless (and i've heard the arguement that "i don't give money to the homeless because i don't know where they'll spend it." what kind of outlook is this. i'm glad Christ didn't say, "i'm not giving my grace to rustin because there will be times when he abuses it and takes it for granted.") we fail to lay down our lives next to scripture to see how we might need to change. instead we take our americanized minds and let our culture, traditions, rituals, etc. regulate what scripture says and how it applies to us. do we change God to fit into our plan or do we allow God to change us to fit His plan.

it just seems that we've turned this beautiful thing (church) into a short list of meaningless rituals and traditions so that we can stay comfortable. it sounds remarkably like stories i've read about the pharisees.

why are we so scared to change?

isn't change a good thing when you're searching for God?

when did we start teaching that the church has to do this, this, this and this in order to be consider a Godly establishment? where are we taking the church when we aren't willing to suck up our pride and allow God to reveal the things in us that need to change. i guarantee you, everyone of us, has something that must change. if we go to church, because it is what we've always done... why go? and if you're going to church but you're unwilling to look more like the Jesus of scripture, not the domesticated Jesus of american, why go? i can tell you alot of other things that you could do that would be easier and you get to sleep in on sundays.

just think (i love this analogy), on the way home today i buy my wife her favorite flowers. she is very surprised and excited but then she asks me, "why would you do something so sweet?" what if i said, "well, they were on sale, so..." or what if i said, "the shop was on the way home and it was right next to the gas station i filled up at, so it was convenient." or what if i said, "haven't you been saying you wanted flowers?" after hearing something like this, does she even want the flowers anymore?

NO.

WHY?

because she doesn't want flowers to be given out of convenience or cause she asked me to. she wants me to give her flowers because it is what i wanted to do FROM MY HEART. she doesn't want flowers, she wants my heart.

is this the way God feels?

God doesn't want us to give 10% because we have to, He wants us to give because we want to and forget 10%. God wants us to give what we feel led to give. it talks about this in Corinthians. when we give out of habit it is an empty ritual. God tells us in scripture that He doesn't want empty rituals, He wants our hearts. if God doesn't have your heart, then all of your words, and actions don't mean anything. without heart being the basis for all that we do, it is all empty. we can go to all of the bible studies, prayer groups, sunday services, mass, retreats, conferences, we can bless all the food we eat, but if we are simply going through the motions it doesn't mean anything. what's the point?

are we becoming like the people in the book of isaiah? scripture says that these people honored God with their lips but their hearts were far from Him.

why give to a church? does God need that money???? NO. Psalms 53 says,

i don't think God can stand it when we sit and put on some religious entertainment on sundays and then we leave through the big doors to go out into a world filled with brokenness, hopeless people, addicts, prostitutes, the poor, the hyper-religious, and we do nothing to help change the world.

well, we say we care but a caring heart produces action. when you're heart breaks for the homeless and you actually do something to help change their situation, you're becoming more like Christ.

God wants our hearts. when God has our hearts, then we will start to care about the people God cares about. we will no longer be able to ignore them. our heart will be burdened by anyone who is broken in anyway. this is when we will realize that we can change the face of the earth; you can make a difference.

remember, "the church" isn't a building. "the church" is the people who follow Christ. it is a people who's hearts are beating more like that of Jesus every day.

we are the church. we are the church.

and perhaps you've been turned off by the hyper-religious and judgmental people who occupy pews, but guess what... so is God. so am i.

please don't confuse "religion" with God. some people do this and end up walking away from both. the point isn't "christianity" or baptist, or methodist, or catholic, or church of Christ... the point is following Jesus.

it's being connected with all that is true, and right, with all that reminds us that there is more going on around us than we realize.


peace be with you

.:rustinklafka