The Church?
THE CHURCH
Matthew 16:18-19 MESS
You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
“And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven.
What do you think of when you hear that; The Church?
But more importantly what does it mean to you?
What did God intend for it to be?
I don’t believe that we are even close to being what the church is suppose to be, and I feel crappy because of it. I am a pastor and why aren’t I doing something to turn the church around? I don’t really know what to do. I know what the church is, (the sum total of all people who have a friendship with God), but I just don’t know what to do about it.
I see that the church has become selfish and “us” focused, unless it is talking about the sinners and all their problems. What a farce. We are the sin stained people with the problems. We too are the ones that wrestle with life and junk as well. But not too many church leaders have the balls to talk about it or even admit it. What a sad fact.
And I am not talking about pointing out the worlds sin. I am talking about not pointing the fingers at the secular world and condemning the snot out of them, but rather looking at the log jam of sin in each and every one of our lives, and allowing God to transform us.
The issue isn’t sin, because Christians and pagans sin. The issue isn’t gay marriage or even separation of church and state. The issue is; Are You Willing To Admit Who You Really Are? A guy, a girl, a mom, a dad, a wife, a husband, a son, a daughter, that has the issue of sin running deep in you. And whether you know Jesus or not, that sin will go to the grave in your body.
So who are you really? Me? I’m a 46 year old husband of 26 years, father of two awesome daughters, pastor of a blended church, and yet a human being that struggles with me. I am a happy go lucky guy, but I have terrible sin that runs deep in me.
If you knew what was in my head, or what I’ve done, or how I act sometimes, you not only wouldn’t think I was qualified or spiritual enough to be a pastor, but you wouldn’t want to hang around with me. Having said all that, I know that because of what Jesus did on the cross for me, I am forgiven. But I still remember where I have come from, not so I beat myself up, but so I never ever forget. So I never forget to reach a hand out to someone who is struggling. So I never forget not to judge someone who is in the middle of rebellion and could care less, but that I would love them with the love of Jesus, that is freely given to me, time and time again.
The church needs to become other people focused once again. We need to look at people as the very thing that moves God’s heart. We need to see people as valuable instead of in the way. We need to stop protecting our turf and start loving people. The church that God desires is not a place at all. It is people caring for and loving hurting and lost people. It is a people learning from the older, bringing up the younger, and growing together, knowing that God is in control.
That is the church. A hospital for the sick, a mess hall for the hungry, a resort for the weary, a mountain stream for the thirsty, and a social center for the lonely. The Church! The only place on earth that offers a glimpse of and taste of heaven.
Matthew 16:18-19 MESS
You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
“And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven.
What do you think of when you hear that; The Church?
But more importantly what does it mean to you?
What did God intend for it to be?
I don’t believe that we are even close to being what the church is suppose to be, and I feel crappy because of it. I am a pastor and why aren’t I doing something to turn the church around? I don’t really know what to do. I know what the church is, (the sum total of all people who have a friendship with God), but I just don’t know what to do about it.
I see that the church has become selfish and “us” focused, unless it is talking about the sinners and all their problems. What a farce. We are the sin stained people with the problems. We too are the ones that wrestle with life and junk as well. But not too many church leaders have the balls to talk about it or even admit it. What a sad fact.
And I am not talking about pointing out the worlds sin. I am talking about not pointing the fingers at the secular world and condemning the snot out of them, but rather looking at the log jam of sin in each and every one of our lives, and allowing God to transform us.
The issue isn’t sin, because Christians and pagans sin. The issue isn’t gay marriage or even separation of church and state. The issue is; Are You Willing To Admit Who You Really Are? A guy, a girl, a mom, a dad, a wife, a husband, a son, a daughter, that has the issue of sin running deep in you. And whether you know Jesus or not, that sin will go to the grave in your body.
So who are you really? Me? I’m a 46 year old husband of 26 years, father of two awesome daughters, pastor of a blended church, and yet a human being that struggles with me. I am a happy go lucky guy, but I have terrible sin that runs deep in me.
If you knew what was in my head, or what I’ve done, or how I act sometimes, you not only wouldn’t think I was qualified or spiritual enough to be a pastor, but you wouldn’t want to hang around with me. Having said all that, I know that because of what Jesus did on the cross for me, I am forgiven. But I still remember where I have come from, not so I beat myself up, but so I never ever forget. So I never forget to reach a hand out to someone who is struggling. So I never forget not to judge someone who is in the middle of rebellion and could care less, but that I would love them with the love of Jesus, that is freely given to me, time and time again.
The church needs to become other people focused once again. We need to look at people as the very thing that moves God’s heart. We need to see people as valuable instead of in the way. We need to stop protecting our turf and start loving people. The church that God desires is not a place at all. It is people caring for and loving hurting and lost people. It is a people learning from the older, bringing up the younger, and growing together, knowing that God is in control.
That is the church. A hospital for the sick, a mess hall for the hungry, a resort for the weary, a mountain stream for the thirsty, and a social center for the lonely. The Church! The only place on earth that offers a glimpse of and taste of heaven.
posted by Offensive Pastors Thoughts at 2:52 PM
1 Comments:
What the Church needs now is love sweet love. I don't want to be overly cynical, and I could fall into that quite easily. I think that we are standing at the cross roads for the church as we now know and embrace it in the U.S. What we currently see is a few very large and apparently healthy congregations and a whole mees of dying ones. Barna says that for every Church that open in America, 3 close! (if you believe Barna)
I believe that the church as we know it is dying. it will, in my estimation be dead for all intents and purposes in about 20 years. Don't dispair, the Bride of Christ will rise from the ashes of the entertainment industry church and will thrive with-in the new arena. The culture is changing so fast, even the rate of change is increasing exponentially. The current structure of church cannot possibly remain relevant in the swirl of change. The church will get smaller to survive, become more organic. lay led and simple in structure and appearance. The signs are all over the place, will we recognize that what we are propagating is dead and the dead need a good burial. Let's begin the digging today, before it's too late.
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