I wonder with such deep frustration as to why it is so difficult for the church to be the church. In all my years of pastoring and leading it seems to always be the same obstacles that cause us Christians to embrace a stagnant stage in which we stay away from the church to do our own thing. Now don't get upset just bare with me because I am not some perfect example to follow but I do know that every time I kill my agenda - God shows up and I am wrecked and fixed up again and able to continue in the work He has laid out for me that day.
What is this all about? What does it mean to follow Jesus? Why don't people embrace studying the Bible more as a community instead of when it's convenient and comfortable? Why do we have to criticize each others perspectives before we can worship the one true God? Why do we busy ourselves with so much stuff that has nothing to do with being Kingdom-Dwellers in a world that has so very much lost its way?
Togetherness has become a fear to the Christian. There are these moments that I have when I get sick of Sundays. I love my brothers and sisters in Christ that I worship with but I get sick of the routines we do in terms of "going to Church". The answer is not to eliminate gatherings of the Church because that is not Biblical. The answer lies in the uncomfortable willingness to strive for what is good, right and true and in the purpose of our Holy God.
Togetherness is God's idea for the church which does not include our own individual belief systems of what we think God is really saying. Now wonder why we fear it because it involves us eliminating our plans to embrace the ONE plan - His.
Togetherness annihilates individualism in the Kingdom. It is another design that God has ordained to grow us up in His likeness. I wonder with all of the busyness in our lives where it is that we so often forget that in order for us to be together with God it cost Him dearly.
We know it is not easy to live for what is good, right and true but yet we are called into that kind of lifestyle. What is good, right and true? There is only one that is good, right and true - Jesus. That is it. Jesus is always the answer no matter how freakin' cheesey we think that is or how much we cringe at that answer and if we do cringe as Christ-Followers then we are so very much dwelling in the unintended place that will continue to allow a subtle and slow darkness to constrict the ability for us to truly love. Jesus is what it is always about and what it always will be about. To live for what is good, right and true is the life intended and the purest form of it approaches us in the life to come.
Part of the struggle to maintain togetherness in our society revolves around Christians just wanting to be cool and relevant instead of loving and realistic. Do you grow tired of hearing people say that we need to speak of our faith in a way that it is "relevant". There's even a magazine out by that title. Or is that not cool to say that? It's just another "cool" thing to purchase and throw on the coffee bar at our churches so that people will hopefully think that we're cool too or hopefully they'll think that "we get it" so now we are close to being cool. Or... we need to look more like a Panera Bread of Starbuck's so that folks will come to our deal. Okay - end that rant!
Honestly, I don't understand what it means to be relevant with a story of a King who lived His whole life all for one very important moment that would require for Him to give His life away in the most painful way possible so that you and I, who weren't even born yet, would believe in love as the solution to all the darkness, death and sin in this world.
How is that relevant?? How is the life of Jesus relevant to the world?? Do you speak about Jesus with relevancy on your mind or faith in your heart? I mean it doesn't make sense if you're spending your time fighting for relevancy for the sake of coolness. In terms of faith and mystery - now that makes me gaze at Him in wonder. It makes me grow in my faith because it takes faith to believe in His story which is what He asks of us. To trust and believe in Him just as I tell my kids when they're afraid of a thunderstorm at night, I tell them I am there and that there's nothing to be afraid of because I am watching over them throughout the night.
We talk about it and dissect it and tell each other all about our own personal theologies - but my God, how is it that we don't stand in awe of Him and how is it that we can set aside going to worship Him together because we're too tired or need time "away"? Seriously, why do we work ourselves to death all week and then when it comes time to gather as the church body we pick that hour or two to be alone?
Because we fear togetherness.
Togetherness depletes the fuel that it takes in order for selfishness to have its way. Togetherness confronts our intentions and weeds out the impurities that we fight to hold on to. We are selfish to begin with. For myself - I think throughout the day about everything that I do and how many things I wish I could avoid(and sometimes I do) because I want for me first. That's so far from the way of the Cross. (I pray to at least remain in it's shadow, for if I can still see but just the casted shade of that instrument of death, that we call "the cross", then I know that my perimeter is still encompassed by mercy and grace and my longing to please myself will surely be put to death by the love of a King who embraced death so that I may live!)
Togetherness is not the way of our society. I recently received an invite to a church planting seminar that is called an E-Luncheon where you sit in front of computer and hold a discussion with a bunch of other pastors and eat lunch... alone. To me that says we can all be safely away from other people so that we can still be the master of our domains. We're afraid of each other. Real human contact is what God's requires of us. I want feel your laughter shake the frame of my body and then share my laughter and some farts too!! Being together because of Him. In Him. Through Him and then giving it back to Him. Otherwise there is no life. There is only death apart from Jesus.
God's plan is made up of His great sacrifice and His Church making that known to the world. Making His story of sacrifice known means that the Church lives a life of sacrifice and then the world will know who we claim. As Paul wrote it out for us "To live is Christ, to die is gain."
We, the church, are called His body by Him on purpose. He makes a definitive point with that analogy. You can't chop off someones arm and then throw it out into their backyard and tell it to rake the leaves. It ain't gonna happen!!!! And it's gross!
The difficulty of togetherness is that it requires us to be Christlike. We have differences which means we must show respect toward one another. When we disrespect one another then we must choose to forgive for it is the only option for the follower of Jesus. We cannot demand for our needs to be met but long to meet the needs of others with great love. When we are taken advantage of we are called to be wise, kind and patient not vengeful and destructive. We are called to be humble and compassionate to a world that knows only the way of "me".
Have you placed your ways on the Cross? Or does that scare you too much. The Christian life was never intended to be a do-whatever-we-want deal. Church is not supposed to be a place that displays a smorgasbord of things so that we can pick and choose whatever works best for our schedules. I know this will upset us but when has embracing the Cross ever felt like a warm soft blanket. That's why the scriptures talk about that war within that looks like us doing the things we hate instead of doing the things that we love.
Togetherness is essential for every and any church community. The poisons that destroy it are our own selfishness, our demands to be loved and then refuse to love, wallowing in our defeat, the mentality that the church owes me, remaining uninvolved and disconnected from the body, and refusing the disciples life.
Now what is even harder to comprehend is that when I say it like that people get upset but then you can flip open your Bible and see that I simply relayed the message that was written down already by God to us. Christians today will get mad if you tell them to read their Bible.
I understand there's lots of pain and misery in this world. But we haven't been called out of that darkness so that we can spend the rest of our lives looking back at it when there is all this abundant life in front us just there for the taking and then we get to give it away!
While writing this I received a phone call from a woman in a homeless shelter. She wasn't calling for food, or clothes or money but for a Christ-following community. Her words were, "I need a church community to care for my soul because when I am alone and away from the church I feel like I am dying." Can you argue against that? Maybe we need to lose some things like her in order to see the need for the church and get our eyes off of ourselves.
Togetherness is His plan. I thank God for the people in my life who were relentless at telling me to never forsake the gathering of the Church. I was able to go and worship with the "mega-church" of our city last week and share with them about serving the poor. I am first to be cynical about mega-churches but they embraced me with love and we worshipped Jesus together. It was ALL about Him.
What else matters?
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