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"Men & Boys go to church and dream of fishing, I go to the river and think about God"-unknown
I hate institutions, with their rules & rulers - politics & politicians . Most churches are institutions.
About ten years ago my wife and I were done with church. We loved God as much as ever, maybe more, but who were these people we were hanging out with several days of the week. Negative, Judgemental, Uber-conservative, Non-intellectual folks for the most part. People that we would never choose to hang out with under normal circumstances.
So we decided to start our own home church. The first week we invited everyone on our block. I was going to bring "a message" and man was I nervous. We had one girl show up. A few more girls started but we were striking out with the men. I turned it over to my wife and it became a women's Bible Study.
About the same time an old friend connected with us and told us he was starting a new church. It was going to be unlike anything we have ever seen at church - and it was.
It was fresh - there were no politics - people that didn't go to church were coming - people were meeting God and lives were changed.
It took about seven years to become an Institution. Now at 10 years old its just another church with the same politics ,infighting, and on and on. I still go there, but it is much like any other duty in life. It is no longer an instrument that brings me closer to God.
How can we "Do Church" in a way that it stays real - organic - pure - all about the love of God. Is there any way humans can meet together without being so human.
This is what I crave, this is what I need. I don't know how to do it! Do you? - Post your thoughts.
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Lord, I was born a ramblin man, Tryin to make a livin and doin the best I can. ---------The Allman Brothers-
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- drifter
- From Somewhere Too Cold, a bit south of canada, United States
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6 comments:
I just finished reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller and he discusses the very same thing in one of the later chapters. Churches are so judgemental and bigoted by their very nature. We must live on this seperate "holy" plane of existance to be a church. Or at least that's what ends up happening. There has got to be a way to make this "non-church" church thing happen. I have no clue how to do it, but it has to be possible. Be like Jesus comes to mind, and man am I trying. But I have a pretty good idea that if Jesus were walking around in 2006 he sure wouldn't be in a church on a Sunday. If anyone can prove that otherwise I'd love to hear the argument.
I came to a realization this weekend that you may be my dear friend Steve! My fishing, drinking, swearing, bass playing, cigar smoking, youth pastoring, architecturing, pacemaker living, cool buddy Steve! Am I right?!?!
i'm waiting for your next post....
still waiting
You play bass? Sweet dog! Ya it is amazing how we get ourselves into ruts. I have been listening to Micheal Frost, and he has someone great points that touch this topic. I will let you borrow it sometime. As far as an answer, I got nothing. It is funny how we think Christians will come to our churches and be saved. They in church they are saved. How selfish our we that to save someone we bring them to us.
Is there any way humans can meet together without being so human.
That says it all - we are human and any group larger than 8 to 10 people will have institutional issues. The challenge comes when our allegiance or identity comes primarily from the institution and not from the reason the institution was set up. When I stay focused on Jesus then all of the other institutional issues, both good and bad become secondary and I can live with them knowing that we are all human. The first thing we need to do is discern what God is calling us to personally and see if and how that relates to a particular church. It may end up being a small group, a church of 100 or a mega church, but regardless, our identity is not in how the institution functions, but the reason behind it functioning in the first place.
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