What I Did in Church Today

I have said this many times before throughout my blogs, but I am going to say it again as sort of a recapping the blessing it is in my life sort of deal. I feel so very fortunate to have found my faith later in life. There was no mold to break, because I did not grow up in church. There were no beliefs of my parents to question, because I did not have parents who expressed a belief system to me really at all. I have no one to please, because I get that the bigger picture is my personal and extremely intimate relationship with God and spreading His love to those who do not know of it. I am a free agent.

However, as part of this following Christ deal, I am now a part of a FAMILY. Family who seeks to help each other out, walking this difficult road in life and holding each other accountable for believing what we believe. So when I feel I see something happening, that lends no strengths to the collective body of Christ as a whole, I tend to want to say something.

Versus ranting and raving about church, versus throwing hissy fits trying to get things to change, and versus being completely silent hoping we progress as the body of Christ (and then leaving the church altogether when we don't)...I am going to, SPEAK.

In church this morning, I tried VERY hard to pay attention, which normally is not difficult for me at all because I adore our preacher and he always has extremely inspirational things to think about. But this morning, from the start of the whole day I just could not seem to get my brain to focus. Sometimes this happens due to not enough sleep or not eating breakfast or something along those lines. So I try and pray it away, so that by the time the sermon comes, my brain and spirit and heart are ready to take in what is about to be said. This morning was different.

Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit nudging you to GET AWAY? Not in a crazy parental "GET AWAY!" situation, but picture me this. Your on your way to eat with a group of people after church, and you feel in your spirit your Lover and Creator whispering "Don't go with them. Come away with ME, my beloved. I want you all to myself." ? (This happens to me alot, and I ADORE time away with my King). Well, this morning, the distraction did not come from outside. It came from within. That same voice. That same Holy Spirit nudging me, telling me "I need your voice to do something about my bride (bride being the church). Write this down..."

I don't know about you guys, but when I get directions from God-I LISTEN! So I took out some paper and my Bible and like a crazy person started writing down all that He had to say. For those of you who know me, know that I take personally things that happen within the body of Christ (whether it be in my own congregation or halfway across the world) and one of the main reasons is because there are too many people out there who do not get it, and my passion is for children and I will fight tooth and nail to the death to make sure we bring up a generation of kiddos who DO get it (and this is hard when the adults teaching them still do not get it). So, I say that to say this....this blog could have EASILY just been another rant about what is wrong with the church today, things I want to change, etc. But I am (only human first of all so bear with me if there is still some "Meg" in here) going to do my best to deliver a message I truly feel God wanted spoken through me.

So, here it is. This is what I did in church today:

"CHURCH"
--Leadership should not compromise their true beliefs (things they know to be a TRUTH) in order to make people (congregation) feel comfortable. That is not "teaching" anything.
An example that came to mind here is parenting. If you KNOW that drinking and driving is dangerous and you hold true to that in your personal beliefs, wouldnt you also try to teach your children that same thing? If your 9 year old son (who does not know better and does not know truth like you do in this situation) was 'uncomfortable' with your stance on the issue, and decided that collectively your family was going to start drinking and driving, would you remain silent? This is not only giving your 9year old son leadership in your family, but it is compromising your personal beliefs. It may not seem that way, because sure in your head silently you know it is wrong to drink and drive, but not saying anything to help guide others to that conclusion is just as bad as handing them a bottle and saying "here, take off"
**Of course this is a completely dramatic example, but if you truly think about it this happens with people in leadership postions all the time. I would imagine (and this is Meg talking here) that it is unbearably difficult to be a leader of a large amount of people. People with different interests, different traditions they grew up with, different opinions. But when you strip back all of the other (and Im going to say this) JUNK, what should be at the absolute core is TRUTH. God told us how to live, how he expects us behave, how we should minister, what the church should look like but more importantly BE. And when all is stripped away, are those truths still at the foundation of the church today?

(Back to God speaking to me this morning)
--we should also not cator to making people feel comfortable because
1. We are NOT called to live as Lukewarm Christians. Revelation 3: 15-16 says "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot not cold, I will SPIT YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH!"
(I dont know about you guys but I do not look fondly on being spit out of the mouth of my very precious savior and redeemer!)
2. If we attempt to cater to making people feel comfortable then we are only proving that all that matters is the amount of bodies in the building.
--Yes, it is important to draw people into "church" but church is NOT A BUILDING. Church is a FAMILY!
--People are SAVED by God not by people. An God CHOOSES whom He will save. (Eph. 1:5-6, Acts 13:48, Rev. 17:8).
**This idea does not discontinue church buildings or congregations meeting (what most people carelessly refer to as "church") but it instead, re-enstates the truth that is having an encounter with God in order to truly understand. People can most definitely encounter God in a church building and become saved....but they can also find God on the streets, in McDonalds, at a volleyball game. He is going to find you in His perfect timing and according to His perfect plan. We (as the body of Christ to non-believers) I feel, are here to facilitate community and fellowship and teaching God's message and sharing his LOVE!
What does this have to do with the previous idea? Well, it backs up that there is MUCH more to it then the amount of bodies in a pew. ((At this point of the blog, I very much wanted to use the example of the desciples asking Jesus why he spoke in parables and his answer (Mark 4) about the masses not understanding his message and equate that to a preacher dictating his sermon on making his 'audience' comfortable with what he's saying-However, this scripture being used for that reason could be up for debate as in this time God had not yet given us the Holy Spirit to guide us (which only proves my point basically about weeding out those in church who come to hear a nice lesson versus those in church who are starving and hungry for the word and the truth as God meant for it to be heard) but we will leave it alone for now))

The things mentioned above are what God asked me to write down while I was in church this morning. Yes, they do mirror what I believe (which is a good thing right? haha) and where my opinion was inserted I was sure to tell you when It was me and not Him. I want to put as simply as I can, just how I feel in general about church today (not my congregation specifically, not one Ive been too, no preachers or elders or anyone being called out here, just my own personal thoughts about the body of christ as a whole):

As Christians who believe, it is our job to spread God's message and LOVE the heck out of others (believers and non-believers). We do not have to just accomplish this through a building at the beginning of every week. I feel church would be an excellent place for those who are starving for the word and yearning to learn more about God and to fall deeper in love with Him, to refuel so to speak. To be FED. And to fellowship with other believers so relationships are formed and it no longer becomes as hard walking this path! Only then are we fed can we spread God's love and His message to others as best we humanly can. Church should not be about the number of "member" or the budget to keep the building air conditioned or how many songs we do or do not sing during worship. Church should be a place where the Holy Spirit overflows and we as believers are in the presence of God. It should not be about formality and times and structure. But should have the freedom for God to show up if He wants to! It is a place to teach children the best decisions to be making for their lives, how to love others, and how much God truly adores them! Out of church should grow people who are madly in love with the Lord, who dance with Him daily, who venture outside of their own life to help others or love others or simply recognize someone other than themselves. It is a place where people should feel welcome and loved the minute they walk through the door, and not a place where people are forced through the door to hear a message they dont understand anyway. Church should not be in the four walls of a building but flowing out into the workplace and schools and the community. (And I could seriously go on all day, but I wont)

I have an AMAZING familiy at my congregation. And for the denomination it chooses to associate with, we are extremely progressive. But we are not called to be a progressive COC in NEA who looks radical compared to the rest of the COC's in NEA. We are called to live lives set apart and radical for God when compared to the rest of the entire secular world.

When it comes to church taking a stand and doing something on this planet, I feel the time for babysteps has come to an end.

I hope that what I have said has not offended but yet, inspired any who choose to read my words. I am simply another person with a voice. But, I am willing to understand when Im in the wrong and learn when I have things to learn.

In Him,
Meg