Martin Smith of the Christian rock and worship band Delirious wrote a song "Shout to the North", which speaks to the rejuvenation of the church. The words of the last verse;
"Rise up church with broken wings;
fill this place with song again;
of our God who reigns on high;
by His grace again we'll fly."
This song speaks well of the current state of the church. But there is Hope...
I am a big believer in the separation of church and state. What that means is that I believe that neither the province nor the Canadian government should be involved in each others affairs. While I acknowledge the fact that Canada's early start as a country owes much to the church (starting many universities, hospitals and handing over many social institutions over), today's political and social environment is much different. The church can no-longer assume that the government will continue to do adhere to Christian traditions and continue to do the work of the church.
What I mean is this; prayer, the bible, Christian teachings etc. are not the responsibility of the school system - it never should have been. In my mind, that should have always been a function of the church. That kids today know nothing of God is the fault of the church... not the school. Had Christian education been handled by the church AND parents in manor that encouraged the whole family to learn together, the landscape of peopling knowing about God would look completely different. But for years, the church complained about the fact that there is no more prayer in school; no bible readings in school, and did nothing to address the fact that the church lost that battle some 40 years ago.
So, today the church is 40 years behind (and still complaining), and struggling to figure out how to turn this around. the reality is... it is not going to happen in our school systems so we need to look at how we do this outside the school system and handled by the people who are more subject matter experts than anyone in the school system.
I think, however, schools should teach religion - all religions. It should look to bring in appropriate and respectful material and teach the basic understanding of common doctrine of all religions. I know that there are books out there that provide this kind of material and I think it would bring a health understanding to kids of various faith groups.
As far as the Christian church goes, we have our work cut out for us; we have many years of catching up to do. It had better be good; it had better be captivating and respectful; it has to be dangerously truthful because kids today are much smarter (with internet access and research capability) to sift through the "differentiating dogma's" of various denominations (and non-denominations - who take on one of those flavors anyway). It has to be life-changing because that is what Jesus came here to do. Not through government programs and institutions rather, through the church... the gathering of people who follow Jesus and believe that He can make a difference in everyone's life. And it is not just on Sunday's either, it is every day.
Don't trust the government to do what the church obviously knows how to do better; Don't let government determine the church's success. This is all in God's hands, not theirs. And if we believe that we are the body of Christ... that means us.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Purpose of Church
Last week was a good week. Actually, in our context (Westernized World view, that is), every week is a good week. When we compare our lives to more than 90% of the people in this world, who can it not be a good week for? Yet, our prayers and our belief systems put us in a place that we believe that things are not going well for us. The Church is no different.
The Church likes to complain that things are not going well. Beautiful heated and dry buildings, comfortable pews, paid staff to do all the work, gatherings and tradition that are pleasing to the members, and the list goes on. So, what is there to complain about? Well, who is going to take over this legacy of real estate? Who is going to take this real estate and make sure that the church building survives in the future? Because that is what we worry about. Who is going to continue "the tradition"? But what tradition?
When I was studying in Montreal, I remember one professor tell me that the church is to "take care of the members and bury them when needed." I was told that one of the main purposes for the church is to be Palliative in nature; take care of the dying; be there to hold hands of people until their time comes. And I must agree, that is one purpose for the church (an important one) but not the only focus; there has to be more to it than just that.
To remain as a Palliative Care Ministry means that as the church "dies off", at one point, there will not be enough people to support the few remaining. So the last ones to try and maintain this kind of ministry will no doubt be people who will not be able to receive this ministry themselves. So there has to be more than just this kind of ministry moving forward. But what is it... or... what are they?
Well for one, how about doing the things that Jesus told us. How about the "Great Commission" and the "Great Commandment" that Jesus gave the church before any other ministry is to be started? Some may be wondering what these two "Great Things" are?
The Great Commission - to go out and tell people that Easter was about an event in history that changed everything and show people just how much God loves us. The death and resurrection of a man people called (at that time) Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, the Son of God wasn't really understood by people back then; it only happened after the resurrection and specifically... when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Jesus followers some weeks later. It was only at this time that their total disbelief turned into understanding. The Great Commission is about talking to people about what God is doing here on earth - 2000 years ago, today, and in the future.Part of the great Commission is "to do" the Great Commandment.
The Great Commandment - to love one another unto death; to love one another to death? This may seem totally weird. Part of the Easter Story is that God loved us so much that He was willing to die to prove it - and He did. "To love one another as Jesus loved people." Jesus was so in tune with people outside of the religious circles at the time (the outsiders) that the people inside these religious circles (the insiders) hated him for it (they killed him because of it). Jesus thought that "Outsider's" were more important than "Insider's"; go figure that one out. Believe it or not, Jesus said these things; "Sick people need doctors, not healthy people"; "You look for lost items... not at the ones you already have."
The G's C's go together... Go out and let people know that God is still doing something today to let people know that He cares about them and loves them for who they are - warts and all. He wants the local church to be a place that goes out and become a catalyst for God changing people's hearts. We can't do this from inside a building; it happens outside of the building... that is what the legacy of the church building is supposed to be about... serving and not being served. It's a mind shift for people, but a necessary one. It takes work.
If you are the kind of person who wants to make a difference in people's lives, talk to me, I would love to hear from you; I would love to hear where your passion is; I would love to hear what is on your heart.
God's blessing to you this day and all your tomorrows.
The Church likes to complain that things are not going well. Beautiful heated and dry buildings, comfortable pews, paid staff to do all the work, gatherings and tradition that are pleasing to the members, and the list goes on. So, what is there to complain about? Well, who is going to take over this legacy of real estate? Who is going to take this real estate and make sure that the church building survives in the future? Because that is what we worry about. Who is going to continue "the tradition"? But what tradition?
When I was studying in Montreal, I remember one professor tell me that the church is to "take care of the members and bury them when needed." I was told that one of the main purposes for the church is to be Palliative in nature; take care of the dying; be there to hold hands of people until their time comes. And I must agree, that is one purpose for the church (an important one) but not the only focus; there has to be more to it than just that.
To remain as a Palliative Care Ministry means that as the church "dies off", at one point, there will not be enough people to support the few remaining. So the last ones to try and maintain this kind of ministry will no doubt be people who will not be able to receive this ministry themselves. So there has to be more than just this kind of ministry moving forward. But what is it... or... what are they?
Well for one, how about doing the things that Jesus told us. How about the "Great Commission" and the "Great Commandment" that Jesus gave the church before any other ministry is to be started? Some may be wondering what these two "Great Things" are?
The Great Commission - to go out and tell people that Easter was about an event in history that changed everything and show people just how much God loves us. The death and resurrection of a man people called (at that time) Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, the Son of God wasn't really understood by people back then; it only happened after the resurrection and specifically... when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Jesus followers some weeks later. It was only at this time that their total disbelief turned into understanding. The Great Commission is about talking to people about what God is doing here on earth - 2000 years ago, today, and in the future.Part of the great Commission is "to do" the Great Commandment.
The Great Commandment - to love one another unto death; to love one another to death? This may seem totally weird. Part of the Easter Story is that God loved us so much that He was willing to die to prove it - and He did. "To love one another as Jesus loved people." Jesus was so in tune with people outside of the religious circles at the time (the outsiders) that the people inside these religious circles (the insiders) hated him for it (they killed him because of it). Jesus thought that "Outsider's" were more important than "Insider's"; go figure that one out. Believe it or not, Jesus said these things; "Sick people need doctors, not healthy people"; "You look for lost items... not at the ones you already have."
The G's C's go together... Go out and let people know that God is still doing something today to let people know that He cares about them and loves them for who they are - warts and all. He wants the local church to be a place that goes out and become a catalyst for God changing people's hearts. We can't do this from inside a building; it happens outside of the building... that is what the legacy of the church building is supposed to be about... serving and not being served. It's a mind shift for people, but a necessary one. It takes work.
If you are the kind of person who wants to make a difference in people's lives, talk to me, I would love to hear from you; I would love to hear where your passion is; I would love to hear what is on your heart.
God's blessing to you this day and all your tomorrows.
