by Alan Hirsch. He wrote the following statement in it.
He is referring to the institutional church; the denominations, the buildings, the hierarchy, the dogma, and the self-righteousness of our religion in conservative American Christianity. We do not seem to want to do much more than token mission anymore. We do enough to feel good about ourselves and even then, we ask those that need us to come to us instead of us going to them. My own denominations problems seem to bear Hirsch’s thoughts out exactly. The leaders at a certain level seem to only care about themselves and the continuance of the institution that caters to their aggrandizement.I asked some questions about denominations on Tuesday. Since I have only been in one, the Church of God-Tennessee, these were real questions I wanted a little discussion about. Not many seemed to have anything to say. I was mainly wondering why some people seem to have an overwhelming love for the institutions of man. Some of the comments and conversations I have read and heard put some peoples love and views of their denominations on a level close to idolatry, in my opinion.
I didn’t join my church because it was in the Church of God. I didn’t join it because I felt all of the beliefs and commitments were so much better or different than others. I did make sure they were not claiming anything blatantly unbiblical. But after that the doctrine of this denomination did not make me jump up and down and declare, this is it, I’ve found the right one. As a matter of fact, the more I have learned and grown I am pretty certain we have a couple of things wrong. It is okay though because everyone does.
So why did I join and stay, you might be asking.
I did it primarily because I sensed the love of God in the people of my local assembly. After being here for seven years, I now not only sense it, I know it. There are a lot of people in my church that love people. But we still have a problem.
I have become more and more concerned with the people outside the walls of my church building, the people in the community that surrounds us every Sunday. Those citizens in Alabaster that sleep in, or go hunting, or wash their clothes and cars, or finish those little home improvement chores, or visit family, or just lay around their homes enjoying the day off; these are the ones I am concerned about because while all of these things may seem harmless, they are really things that serve our adversary and his kingdom and are actually going to cause these people to end up with an eternal sentence that my King does not want. And if my King does not want it, then I don’t either.
So what is our problem at Alabaster?
It is the same problem a lot of churches have. We are okay at dispensing the love God commands of us to most of those that darken our doorways. Visitors are generally welcome and not even ignored by most. And when someone decides to come for a while most do show them some love. We even brainstorm and pray about how to get more people to come. Special programs, holiday fellowships, kid’s crusades, and other ideas are tossed about and some even performed and we have a bigger crowd that day. But that is it; we have a bigger crowd that day.
I am not against these things. I am not against asking everyone we see to come to church. Programs are tools for us to use. They are just not the essence of the mission. I am against our attitudes that reflect that we think we have achieved great things for the Kingdom by doing these things. That we have somehow succeeded at our mission.
The mission our Lord left us with was simple. Jesus told us to go. He told us to make disciples, feed the hungry, care for the widowed, the orphaned, and the imprisoned. We can and should be doing some of this in our churches when they do come. But if you haven’t noticed, most are not coming, even when we ask.
That is why we must start doing the first part. We must go, go where they are, and do the work He would have us do and stop waiting till they show up where we are. So what does this really have to do with denominations?
I just wish some of those that display such passionate devotion to their denominations would display at least the same amount of passion for the true Church, Jesus’ Church, the ekklesia, and for the mission He left us. I just wish more of us were passionate about going.
Love you all
The church belongs to Jesus. It is not a building or a denomination. It is instead made up of all of those people who believe that He is Lord and who follow Him. It is by necessity varied and disjointed in some ways, definitely not perfect, but still a jewel in Gods eyes.
No, it is not. Christianity, no matter how a postmodern society and church defines it, is really about or should be about, following, serving, and doing as that easy to love Savior-King, Jesus, commanded us. And He commanded us not only to love Him but to love everybody else too. We must love our spouses as He loves the church-His body and bride. We must love our families by obeying our parents and caring and instructing our children. We must love our brothers in the family of God because anyone that hates his brother is a murderer. We must love our neighbors even as we love ourselves and we know that we love ourselves very dearly. We must even love our enemies and show it by turning the other cheek and giving them our coat when they steal our shirt.
I have been praying and thinking a lot lately. There are a few decisions that have to be made soon concerning life in general and my placement in the ranks of the army of God. I have not written very much because I am very concerned about being a stumbling block or an instrument of offense. Some seem to think I have been the instigator of division in the Body already. So I have waited, prayed, and pondered.
