This past weekend, some were still traveling home from the holiday. Trying not to fall asleep at the wheel, overcome by large doses of tryptophan, it appears that our friends have all made it home and back to school and work. For those who celebrated the power of our risen Savior in our weekend worship time, we looked at one of the most difficult things in the world to tackle – forgiveness. We are in a weekend series called Imagine. We are imagining the power of God to be supernaturally released into our lives by the introduction of the God-life. Forgiveness being one of the largest components of that life. Have you noticed how easy it is to look at someone else’s situation and conclude that they were making a big deal about nothing? You calmly, logically, and even biblically thought they should just forgive whatever it was that they were upset about and move on. Isn’t it strange how that whole calm thing gets lost when we are the ones under the magnifying glass? When it is our feelings that are wounded, all the emotions swirl and seemingly our sense of perspective is temporarily “out of order.” Since Sunday, I have had many people walk up to me and say, “Wow, that one really hit me where I am.” I just grin at them and say, “It hits everybody.” You cannot live in this life without bumping into other people. You are going to face conflict. What we do with that, and how we respond to it, has a great deal to say about us. Perhaps nothing reveals with any greater extent our emotional, spiritual, and mental healthiness (or lack thereof) than our willingness and our ability to forgive.
Forgiveness is not a difficult concept. Little kids on the playground can pick it up right away with the simplest of instructions. Kid A offends Kid B. Adult instructs Kid A to apologize to Kid B. Kid B whimpers and grimaces for sympathetic effect. Kid B then relinquishes and acknowledges Kid A’s apology. Five minutes later, Kid A and Kid B are playing again as if nothing ever happened. A case for forgiveness. Yet, when we begin to grow up our offenses become greater and our relationships far more complicated. Let’s be honest; forgiveness is easy to define. Just about any of us could even lay out appropriate steps to take in seeking forgiveness or seeking to forgive. Defining it, quoting scriptures about it, even instructing others about it is not hard to do. What is hard to do is to forgive. You see, there isn’t a one of us who doesn’t feel justified in our offense. We know how we have been wronged, and we know how it has hurt us. So, our pain, our emotions, and our wounds create a warm greenhouse for our resentments, our bitterness, and our desire for revenge. So much so that we are willing to act in otherwise uncharacteristic ways. Christians are the absolute worst when it comes to this. Our secular friends are not nearly so caught up in the plastic pretenses that Christians seem to be, so they just let it rip. Not Christians, we know that we are to forgive; but our pain is just as real as that of non-Christians. So, we quote Bible verses right and left, justifying our actions, our attitudes, and our aggression. All the while, trouncing dozens of other portions of scripture that we choose to conveniently ignore in our sense of rightness.
As one pilgrim who is on the journey of trying to forgive others who have harmed me, I tell you I understand how difficult and how elusive forgiveness can be. I now have dozens of messages on forgiveness in over twenty years of communicating God’s Word publicly. Trust me; it is a lot easier to stand and list the steps, the principles, the actions and reactions of scripture in forgiveness than it is to simply put it into practice. Yet, I can’t help but walk away with the simple principles that we looked at last weekend. I need to experience forgiveness from God, and so do you. I need to embrace His forgiveness in my life, and so do you. But my process is not complete until I learn to extend that forgiveness to others, and neither is yours. It isn’t easy. I don’t naturally want to forgive. I want justice, I want my apology, and I want restitution for the offense. In the middle of this brokenness, God says it doesn’t matter what I want. He knows what I need. So, I have to choose to forgive. I believe, if I sincerely choose that path, that eventually, my heart will follow. I am to forgive because God says to. I am to forgive because I have been forgiven myself. And I am to forgive because I don’t want to carry the bitterness and destruction of unforgiveness in my life and my future. Struggle with me, but let’s make a commitment to choose freedom: freedom from anger, bitterness, hatred, and destruction. There, I feel a little better already. How about you?
Experiencing grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 11/29/2007
My dad, who now lives with Jesus, used to say there are two things that God won’t share with anyone. Those two things are His glory and His revenge. Here’s how I have always pictured it: If any of us start to take credit for what God has done, or we start to settle a score that belongs to Him, He backs away. In other words, you can use all the Christianese you want to…all the usual phrases, but God won’t come anywhere near a group of people or an individual who have tried to steal His glory or seek His revenge. Just quickly, I will speak to revenge. It is best served, or sweet, or all the other things that people say. The bottom line… it is wrong. In Romans 12:19 (NLT) Paul told us, “Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, `I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord.” Some may have tried to harm you, they lied about you, slandered your name, stolen things from you, abused you, tried to destroy you or any number of other things. Everything inside your human nature cries out to settle the score. Yet God says, “Leave it alone! Walk away and leave them to Me.” He does a far better job of settling the score than any of us could possible mention.
The first of these two items is why I am writing today, though … His glory. God is serious about people seeking to horn in, steal, or even share God’s glory. Now, Christians have become skilled at finding ways around this. Hiding behind phrases like, “He deserves all the praise,” or “Praise the Lord!” or pointing to the sky. While there may be nothing wrong with these expressions, they are often perfunctory and hide a true motive which is more deeply and carefully concealed. We should all arm ourselves at how subtle this can be in our own lives, where we want God on our side; and we want to share in the spoils of battle. Micah 6:8 (NLT) “No, O people, the Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” The only way to walk with God is to walk humbly before God.
This is the season of the year when we give thanks to God for His provision and His goodness to us. God has been so good yet again to us. If you have been reading this column throughout this past year, you know that God has blessed The Gathering in an unusual way. Our staff has talked about it many times … we must be so careful not to even hint that we have anything to do with it. We could have organized a church. We know how to do that. We could have drawn a crowd. We know how to do that. We couldn’t do God-sized things in God moments and in God-appointed ways, though. So, we stand back and we lift our applause to Him! Thank you, God, for your goodness to me, to us, and to your children in this world. We pray for our future that Your name will be lifted higher and higher for greater recognition. The applause is for You alone!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! May you experience His richest blessings on your life and your families.
Experiencing Grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 11/21/2007
I am still celebrating from this past weekend. With gray, overcast skies, and rain falling we were able to gather in the heart of our city and lift the name of our King for the city to hear. While we were celebrating what God has done in and through us over the last year, He was continuing to build and lay a foundation for what is to come. Early on the morning of the 11th, cars began to assemble in the parking garage. Eager worshippers, filled with excitement and anticipation, were scurrying about inside this great convention hall in preparation for a day of declaration. And what a day He gave to us! If you weren’t there, it is hard to express the genuine excitement that was in that room. We had a great number of guests - people coming to see if this is for real. Could it be true? Is there really a church out there that is freed up from traditional constraints, freed up from condemning know-it-all Christians, freed up from consumerism? The answer was a resounding YES!
I wish you could read some of the emails I have received this week. I cannot share them with you in deference to the confidentiality of what has been shared with me. However, I can tell you that people are coming out of the woodwork, finding a safe, spiritual environment where people are real and they are beginning to genuinely love and care about others. While others are discussing theories, strategies, theologies, and formations, we are simply helping people to make a connection in a genuine way with a God who loves them. Rather than making people feel unworthy and condemned, we joyfully offer hope. We are focused on building over-the-top small communities where people are now experiencing the joy of belonging and loving. As these groups are growing, loving and serving together, they are developing a sense of community that is beyond theory and definition. And compassion, well, you just can’t be a part of The Gathering without a heart for compassion. You see, the defining spirit of who we are is a genuine care and concern for the broken. Jesus lives with the poor, the broken, the hurting, and the prisoners. There are those who have been overlooked, neglected, and rejected. NO MORE!!! God is throwing doors open for us to minister His life, His love, and His healing. My whole life I have been in churches. I have rubbed shoulders with cultured and polished Christians. While these values were talked about, they were barely practiced or carried out by only a few. To see a whole community of Christ-followers embracing this spirit is extraordinary. I believe it is why God is opening doors for us in the community at large that we could never have believed.
Thank God for His gifts of mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness. He specializes in taking a broken leader, a broken group of people, and a broken situation to display His power, glory, and awesome power. I can tell you at this point, He is the only one who can take credit or applause for what is happening. The degree to which He has changed lives, and the stories of what He has done are eternal in nature. I am so grateful and so blessed to be in such a sweet and loving group of people. I want to thank The Gathering family for making the journey of the last year with me. What the enemy has meant for destruction, God has used for His good! He is an awesome God!!!
Experiencing Grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 11/15/2007
It is hard to believe all that God has accomplished in us in just twelve months. November 12, 2006, we began a journey together. The Gathering was born. We had no idea where we were going or what God was going to do. The last year has grown and changed all of us. What an experience. In many ways, this has been one of the most fruitful spiritual years I have ever experienced. We have seen people respond to a safe spiritual environment. Story after story sticks out to me of people who have come out of their reclusion to experience an authentic community focused on the healing power of Jesus Christ. 49 people followed Christ in baptism at two of the most moving experiences I have ever seen: one in an Olympic pool and one in an area lake. Both of these days were mountaintop experiences – hearing the stories of a former Buddhist, three generations, husbands and wives, fathers and their children being baptized. There ain’t nothing like it.
The Victory Project has been God-sized and at times staggering to watch. Door after door has opened for us to have the opportunity to reach people who have been hard-pressed and who are hurting. Tears have streamed down our faces as He has allowed us to stand and catch people who were falling. We have lifted them back up and offered hope! Cross-cultural worship experiences and ministry outreaches have forever changed our hearts. The spirit of love and unity and excitement has characterized our weekends. God has indeed been good!
When God was leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt and into a Promised Land of great provision, He told them to take reminders with them. These things would remind them for generations of the faithfulness of God. Joshua 4:19-24 (NLT) “The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month — the month that marked their exodus from Egypt. They camped at Gilgal, east of Jericho. [20] It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River. [21] Then Joshua said to the Israelites, "In the future, your children will ask, 'What do these stones mean?' [22] Then you can tell them, 'This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' [23] For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. [24] He did this so that all the nations of the earth might know the power of the Lord, and that you might fear the Lord your God forever."
This weekend, we will be gathering as one family at the Dayton Convention Center. Trust me; you don’t want to miss this day. It will be another stone…another marker that we won’t soon forget. As we look back over the last year and celebrate what God has done, we have much to be thankful for, much to remember, and much to commemorate. With video and song and life stories, we will see the proof of God at work. We will once again experience the mantle of His blessing. We also have much to do in the future. As He continues to open doors, we have unlimited opportunities in this coming year to tell our community that God has an incredible love for them. Thank you, God, for changing lives, especially mine!
Experiencing Grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 11/08/2007
Recently, I had the opportunity to help with a funeral. The man who had passed away was a fireman. It was awesome to watch the public service community respond to their fallen companion. Throughout the time of visitation, they took turns standing at attention around the casket. When the service began, with military precision they marched in and saluted two at a time. They waited in unison and then sat together in mass. Firemen, Policemen, and Paramedics. They were a community and they stood as one. After the service, they carried the casket and placed it on top of a fire truck. With honors, they paraded to the cemetery. Lights on, each branch of the community was represented and stood at attention. When we arrived at the gravesite, they had a special ceremony with fly over, a last call on the radio, taps, and bag pipes. It was amazing to watch and to be a part of this experience.
When it was over, the chaplain of the forces came to me and thanked me for my part in the service. I responded appropriately and then told him how impressed I had been by all that had taken place. His response was key to me. He said, “Oh yes, we are a very close group. We share common life and common risk. We ALWAYS have each other’s back. We do in life situations, and we certainly wouldn’t turn our backs on one another in death.” Wow! I walked away thinking we as the church need to take notes from these guys. What could God do with the church if we, as Christians, had each other’s backs? What if we had that level of commitment to each other, to our community, and to our mission? Unfortunately, the Christian Church is more characterized by a “gotcha” mentality. Make any statement at all…anything…and you will find somewhere a Christian that is closer to God and more right than you are. They then feel the need to straighten you and everyone else out. The Bible was intended to arm us for life, not for battle to destroy one another.
Recently, a friend forwarded me an article about Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. They have been one of the most influential churches in America and around the world in the last thirty years. What made news is that they acknowledge some of their strategy for growing mature beliefs wasn’t working as they thought, and they were looking at recalibrations. A few people rightly praised them for their honesty and integrity in living and learning. Most churches would never spend money to determine whether their ministries were actually working and having the desired effect. It would burst their delusional bubble. As expected, the usual bandwagon of know-it-all, pile-on, closer-to-God-and-the-truth Christians began pounding away at Willow. They are used to it, but I for one am tired of it. I am tired of Taliban Christians who sabotage and bomb others without conscience. Their perspective was, “See, we have known all along how wrong these guys have been.” When these guys baptize 1,000 people at a time, does it makes sense to listen to the nay saying, bitter and frustrated, pseudo-intellectuals rip apart from their self established platforms of truth and righteousness? Virtually every church I talk to right now is reeling from the attacks, blogs, and arm-chair quarterbacking of Christians who have nothing better to do with their own personal issues than throw up all over everyone else. Why is it that every frustrated, bitter, arrogant Christian feels the need to expose the world to their narrow-mindedness and ginsu tongue?
I am not saying that we should fall over dead. There is such a thing as truth. There is such a thing as absolute truth. And the truth is, none of us possess it absolutely! I have wondered for years why we Christians always feel like we are right and those who disagree with us are wrong. We are the biggest babies. If people disagree with us about ministry or worship style or church structure or leadership, we feel obligated…no compelled to expose them and demonize them. This only reveals a lack of security in who we are and a substitution of true intellect for a rote simplicity. As for me, put me with the firemen, the policemen, and the paramedics. If you are a part of the spiritual family, I have got your back. By the way, that is true even if we disagree on a couple of theological interpretations. My only caution: watch out for the Christians carrying knives!
Experiencing Grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 10/25/2007
It has been an unusual and difficult month for our spiritual family. About a month ago, Tab M. at age 47 went to sleep and didn’t wake up. His death was shocking to all of us, and still doesn’t, in some ways, seem real. I keep expecting him to walk in the back door pushing his tech cart to set up and help out in our children’s lives. A beautiful young lady, a senior in high school, was tragically killed in a car accident just a couple of weeks ago. A beautiful life with seemingly so much to live for…now gone. Her death affected many of us. Although several people did know her, even among those of us who didn’t, it was a horrible tragedy and loss. This week, we had a funeral for another wonderful guy. Mark J. was a quiet and unassuming person out in large group settings. However, privately, he was a cut-up. A great guy who would go out of his way to help you any way that he could. His only real downfall was that he was a Pittsburgh Steelers’ fan. Oh well, no one is perfect, I suppose. J Cancer took physical life from him at 37 years of age. He leaves with us a precious wife who our family loves and will continue to walk with into the future.
Why? Why death? Why now? Why these wonderful people? I mean, if you look around, there are a lot better candidates to take from this life. There are people who abuse children. There are people who are bitter and mean. There are people who are violent and dangerous. Shouldn’t God take more of them and leave us with more bright and wonderful people like these amazing friends? It just seems somehow wrong from our vantage point whenever someone wonderful dies at a “premature” age. If you and I were God, we probably would try to balance the ledger page with more “bad people” than “good people.” After all, when someone is gunned down with street violence, we normally don’t ask why…we just assume they more or less deserved it. When mean and bitter people die with cancer, we don’t ask why, we might even subconsciously feel it a relief for the living. Maybe others deserve to die sooner because they don’t live up to our standards of “good lives.”
I didn’t know the young lady. I am told she was a sweet person. However, I did know both Tab and Mark. I know that they were nice guys, good guys. They will be missed! The last month has caused me to think, though…perhaps you as well. None of us are invincible. This life has no guarantees. If you are planning on doing some living, you had better get to it now. I, for one, am glad that I am not God. I would have messed this up a long time ago. More than that, I am glad that you aren’t God either. None of us would be any good at it. The truth is we live in a broken world. A world that daily suffers from and feels the effects of our sin brokenness. Some of the effects are due to our own failures. Some of them are no fault of our own, just the fact that our entire world, the systems in this life, the pleasures of this life, even our ecosystem in this life is broken. That is why we shouldn’t live for this broken-down life. Make the most of it, yes! But, we need to set our sights on something higher. Something that lasts and that isn’t broken. A city whose builder and maker is God.
Just a couple of random thoughts to close. One – live every day to the max. You may add up a lot of incredible days, but there is no guarantee of what lies ahead. Second – love the people who are in your life. Make your words, thoughts, and experiences sweet. When one of us leaves this life for eternity, it makes it so much easier on those of us left behind for a while. Three – Live life and enjoy life, but don’t get so caught up in it that you fail to live for eternity. Make investments in things that last, in things that matter. You won’t regret it. Four – Realize that everyone who dies matters to someone. They certainly matter to God! Maybe I won’t be so calloused the next time I hear of one of those “bad” people dying in a drive by. You see, God loves “bad” people every bit as much as He loves me…or you. Yeah, whatever you do, live life by making the most of it! Thanks for the memories, Tab and Mark. We will see you again!!!
Experiencing grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 10/18/2007
Throughout many periods of the last two thousand years since Christ, the Church has actually become so politicized, corrupted, and even at times evil, that God moved the mission and the movement of the Church outside the walls of the organized church. The river of God’s redemptive force has been flowing, though, since the Holy Spirit was poured out in this world to empower and enable the Church to accomplish the mission of God. Sometimes it shows up in the strangest and most unusual places - places where no one would anticipate or think to look. It might be in the slums of Calcutta, India or behind prison bars, or even in the worst sectors of town. Sometimes it comes in an outside organization that has euphemistically come to be known as a parachurch organization. Yet, it has been there. In spite of the enemy’s best attempts to derail, defame, or destroy the Kingdom of God, it still prevails.
Today, it appears that the same reality is taking place inside the American church. You can find the Kingdom of God, but it is not in the usual places you might think to look. For example, you are more likely to find the Kingdom of God in a homeless shelter than in the beautiful church building on the corner. The sign may entice you to look inside the beautiful ornate building; but when you look, often you will find a subculture of self-serving, self-congratulatory, and self-centered existence. The virtues of the gospel are hailed, but rarely truly practiced. It was for the sick that our Great Physician came…not those who see themselves as well. You are more likely to find the Kingdom of God in a prison, in a poverty stricken community, or a mission field than on a Christian campus. Don’t get me wrong. I have two earned degrees. I have attended Christian universities and seminaries with appreciation for the knowledge they impart. The problem is just that … knowledge. It has a way of puffing up. Many of the fat-heads that populate these bubbles of Christian knowledge wouldn’t know a movement of God if it ran over them.
We are learning to see this at The Gathering. As we are focusing our vision on finding God, rather than asking Him to find us, He has taken us to some unusual places. We have found Jesus in a soup kitchen, in court appearances with the Juvenile Court system. We have seen Him in tough neighborhoods where love has brought hope to hard-pressed people. Seven months ago, we launched something called the Victory Project. The primary objective is to create a series of sensational projects that bring hope and healing to those who need it the most. This past week, we began to see how incredible this may be. It is phenomenal to see what we have already experienced, but the people we approached several months ago now know that we are not “wannabes.” We have been asked if we would be willing to sit down with the city leaders and expand our partnership into the city’s hurting needs. I can’t tell you how humbled, how proud, how excited I am that God is opening doors that no one else could open. I invite you to get involved. Not in some stale, stuffy, self-righteous, self-serving church gig. No, I am asking you to join the mission and the movement of God. Dive into His river of redemption and watch the incredible places it will take you. I can promise you this…sooner or later, you will see Jesus!
Experiencing grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 10/12/2007
This past week was an unusual one for our church family. We ran the gamut of emotions. First, we received what to us was a shocking phone call that one of our own had gone to sleep on Tuesday evening, and didn’t wake up. Well, he woke up, but in another dimension. Tab was special to all of us. And being only forty-six, to die so unexpectedly left all of us in shock. Tab was the epidemy of a servant. Soft spoken and gentle, he faithfully carried out so many responsibilities that he had assumed for our ministry in worship, in the children’s area, and, as a fireman, in the medical support team. He will be deeply missed by his spiritual family and terribly missed by his immediate family. Our prayers are continuing to support his precious wife and two wonderful sons.
Within hours of this news, we were made aware that another beloved couple in our church had just given birth to their first-born son. We have prayed through this pregnancy with them and were so glad to see Nathan make a long, but healthy journey into this world. As we began to piece the two events together, we realized that although we don’t know the exact moment of Tab’s departure, the two events probably took place within a hour or two of each other. Within moments, God took one of our treasures to Heaven to be with Him, and granted a new treasure to our spiritual family to be loved extraordinarily. It was an odd day for me. To walk into a hospital room and see one family grieving at the shock of their world turned upside down. Then, to travel across town and see another family rejoicing and celebrating the miracle of birth. We were able to live out Paul’s instructions to “laugh with those who laugh, and cry with those who cry” all in one day.
God causes it to rain on the just and the unjust. I am sure there is some mean-spirited person who will bitterly harm and hurt people for the remainder of their long life. While, from our estimation, there is a wonderful man in Heaven who won’t have any more years in addition to his forty-six to continue to love and serve. If you were God, wouldn’t you straighten all that out? The “bad people” would die quick and painful deaths, catch all the diseases, and suffer all the setbacks. While the “good ones” would live long, fulfilling, and rewarding lives. It is a good thing that you and I aren’t God. He possesses a whole unique perspective that you and I do not possess. We don’t always understand what He is up to; but honestly, we can’t. We don’t know what He knows, or see what He sees. That is what makes Him God, and we learn to either trust Him or not.
It left me pondering the realities of life. First, we are not assured of one more day on this earth. Even our taking it for granted cannot change that fact. We should live each day to the fullest extent. Live each day, making some deposit in eternity with the investment of life. Live each day, treasuring the ones you love, the good times in life, and laughter with family and friends. On the other hand, the joy of a new baby reminds us that God hasn’t forgotten us either. He makes all things new. In spite of the fact that we have messed up what He created in perfection, God is still intimately involved in this broken world around us. Thank you, Lord, for life, for love, for laughter, and for the moments that we share in love with those who are dear to our hearts! I am grateful for the journey with a people of grace at The Gathering! I couldn’t have been more proud of you last week! You really know how to laugh and cry!!!
Experiencing Grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 10/04/2007
I had an interesting conversation the other day with a couple of good friends. The topic of church came up. Now, all of us in the room are sincere followers of Christ. Yet, the level of honesty that almost immediately developed was amazing to me. Rather than the usual pat answers and conditioned Christian cliches, we really talked about where the church is today. The experiences that all of us had been through having been around the church all of our lives were remarkable. You have to understand, we are not outsiders hurling rocks at an institution that we have no time for…quite the opposite. Each of us has given significant chunks of our lives to serving Christ through the local church, and in some cases have been extraordinarily close to hugely influential leadership. We are not debating crossing the line of faith here; we are all in!
What amazed me, though, was the emotional nerve that was struck when church came up. In his article, “Church Free Christianity”, Daniel T. Haase researches this emotion and discovers that many people love Jesus, but not the church. His research reveals that this is not exclusive to those outside the church. Many inside the church have been completely turned off by the atmosphere and culture of the present day representation of Christ in the world around them. It also makes me think of one of my favorite book titles: When Bad Christians Happen To Good People. The emerging generations are not offering blind loyalty to the institution and machinery of the organized church. Many, like their secular counterparts, have been turned off by the self-serving, condescending, and brutal approach to “truth”.
Back to my conversation…one of those present made a somewhat startling statement. He told us that he hadn’t been in a church service in five months. This came as a shock because we know the sincerity of his faith. When pressed about why, he responded, “I know that the church is the place that you are supposed to develop community, serve the world, and worship in community; but I am so completely turned off by the church today that I want nothing to do with what it has become. The church is full of politics and pretense. The way the church presents itself, and the way it treats people, I can’t abide by.” I responded by saying, “I certainly can relate to that and I am sympathetic to your position, but what about your kids? What are you saying to them by ignoring the church?” To which he replied, “I am the prophet and priest of my home. It is my job to teach my children about God and His Word. Besides, I feel that if I am protecting them from the damage and destruction of the phonies of church life, I am doing them a favor.” Pretty strong stuff!
I am not saying that I agree whole-heartedly with this position. I think the church needs good people to stay involved. If not, we hand it over to the condescending, know-it-all phonies who continue to propagate the stereotype of hypocrisy. For all of its flaws, the body of Christ is the God-ordained agency in this world charged with the mission and the empowerment of God’s Spirit to take the gospel of Christ to the world. I plead with my friend and all of you not to give up on the church. Don’t forsake the gathering together of yourselves. I certainly understand the hurt, disillusionment, and resentment of what it has, by in large, become. However, there are hypocrites in every sector of society. We can’t expect the church to be exempt from it. I guess it is fair to have a higher expectation of the church; but the truth is, the higher expectation merely becomes a pit-fall for greater ranks of hypocrisy. We are ALL hypocrites to one extent or another. I guess for some, if they can point out the failure of others, it takes the focus away from themselves - at least for the moment. My point is this…flaws and all, the church is the bride and the body of Christ. If you’re sick of the games, if you’re turned off by the show and the sham, then dive in and make a difference. Love…true love always wins out!
Experiencing grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 09/26/2007
In a couple of weeks, we will be starting a new series of focus during our weekend worship. These several weeks in a row will be called “Moving Beyond The Mask,” where we will address the condition of modern Christianity. If you think about it, it is pretty interesting stuff. Just what is the state of modern Christianity? How accurately does it reflect what Christ launched when He emerged from a grave victorious over death? In those critical days after His mission was accomplished, He did something extraordinary. He handed His Father’s Kingdom to flawed followers. Just days earlier, at His moment of greatest stress, this rag tag band of apostles had all denied Him and run like frightened school children. Now, here He is handing the keys to the Kingdom (car) over to them. Think about that for a moment. If they had failed in this mission, all His sacrifice, all that had been accomplished, could have been lost in vain. No one can know for certain what would have taken place. Certainly the plans of God would ultimately not be thwarted, but it does make you wonder. The difference was the Holy Spirit! Entering the picture, He fills and empowers them to accomplish with astonishing boldness victory on a supernatural scale.
Two thousand years plus have passed now and it is quite a different vantage point. One of the most interesting classes I took in seminary was church history. When you chronicle the abuses of man over this ancient period of time, you have to know God is in the true church, or man would have killed it hundreds of years ago. Through all the twists and turns that have taken place, the church has come out, though, in a lot of different forms. Some of those accurately and biblically reflect, I believe, what Jesus intended. Some of them are aberrations and project a black eye to the world around us. Why is it that year after year, polling indicates that the greater population has such distain for Christians? Even if people choose different lifestyles, why is it that they do not respect and admire the zeal and sincerity with which Christ followers pursue Him? Now, some Christians may wear it as a badge of honor that we are widely rejected, and even call on the words of Christ Himself who said, "When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you. [19] The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don't. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you.” John 15:18-19 (NLT) To be sure, there is a spiritual adversary that has great animosity toward the children of God. There is a somewhat measurable disdain in the world’s system toward the followers of Christ. However, to be objective, on a more personal level most people who are not Christ followers have the perceptions they do from personal experiences, not some underlying spiritual opposition. It reminds me of a great book I once read entitled, When Bad Christians Happen To Good People. They are not rejecting God, but those who claim to follow Him. Sickened by the subtle condescension of superiority, the guilt-trips, put downs, and well intended insults, people have turned into `church refugees.’
That is why we have passionately committed ourselves to being a church that rejects the cultural overload of `churched-people’s’ expectations and insensitivity to the world around them. One of the gravest dangers that Christians face is the sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle pressure to view life through the created bubble of Christian isolation. Our bubble gum churches are constantly congratulating ourselves they we are not like the people on their way to Hell. If there is a message that comes through loud and clear in this, it is that churches don’t care about those people. If we did, instead of talking about them, we would talk to them. Instead, churches in America are dying by the thousands…not because of government interference or restrictions of worship. No, they are rotting from the inside out. The church has become to many a poor man’s country club where they show up expecting the church to meet their every whim. We will feed you, get you back into shape, help raise your kids, and meet your every spiritual demand. We will provide social networks, single’s hook-ups, and business connections. Why, we will even provide entertainment for your social nights out as long as you help out with the dues. The church has turned into a niche marketing machine that will try anything to get people to connect with us. This works beautifully if you just don’t cross the line. Don’t ask anybody to think about anything other than their desires. Don’t ask them to deny themselves, serve others, or give of their time, money, and talents. No wonder people are turned off in mass by the church experience. This is one small voice pleading with the Christian community to snap out of it. We need to apologize to our secular counterparts for being so self-absorbed and condescending on top of it. Last weekend, when I was with a team of our people among the poor in the streets of Covington, KY. I was reminded yet again of the one thing that works - Love! Love breaks down almost every barrier. What a coincidence. Jesus didn’t say they’ll know you’re speaking truth because the college professors and the seminary crowd have signed off on your theology. Here are HIS words: “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." John 13:35 (NLT) Go share your faith with someone; and, if necessary, use words!
Experiencing Grace,
John
posted by The Gathering's Leadership on 09/20/2007
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