Just Be the Church

Sounds simple enough, right? The church should just be the church- a body of believers focused on modeling Christ, sharing his message and serving others while enjoying the blessings of unity and fellowship. Simply said, but not simply applied.

 

Somewhere along the way it got more complicated. Somewhere along the way the church gained social status, built elaborate edifices to demonstrate it and grew very comfortable within them. Somewhere along the way the church decided to politicize, work to set national policy and grab power in high places.  Somewhere along the way the church confused Americanism with Christianity and began preaching a gospel of prosperity. Somewhere along the way the church “traded fidelity for influence” and pushed her real agenda to the back-burner.

 

In speaking of what eternally matters Jesus said: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25:35-36)

 

This is the church just being the church. No pretense. No front page news. No what-are-you-doing-for-me attitude. No lobbying for personal or political power and position. Just serving; just making a difference one life at a time; and just doing what Jesus did.

 

Once, John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus to clearly verify that Jesus was the one, true Messiah. Jesus chose to answer their inquiry this way:

 

Go back and report to John what you hear and see; The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. (Matthew 11:4-6)

 

Don’t get lost in the miracle talk. Jesus defined himself simply as a servant. He had no political agenda. He did not care about the social class structure. He was not interested in enhancing his public image. His focus was unclouded. He came to seek and save the lost.

 

If the church is to be just the church then we must do the same- period. It’s not about keeping up with the mega-churches, the celebrity authors and preachers or the latest church growth fad. It’s not about power except to surrender it to Jesus. It’s not about buildings, budgets or worship style.

 

In his Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis’s demon Screwtape shared this wisdom with his nephew Wormwood; “Once you have made the world an end and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing. Provided that meetings, pamphlets, policies, movements, causes, and crusades matter more to him than prayers and sacraments and charity, he is ours.”

 

Can we simplify again? Can we come out of our comfortable cathedrals and rediscover the hungry and thirsty?  Can we find our way back to just being the church?

The Latest in Church Trends

In the most recent edition of Christianity Today I could not help but notice their reports on the continuing growing trend among mainline churches to go back to the future. In terms of theology, worship, devotion and spiritual development what was old seems to be new again.

Back in 2006 I wrote in this blog about the Return of Orthodoxy. According to CT writer Charles Armstrong this trend is only gaining more momentum. Reporting on the growing numbers of Christians returning to orthodoxy in his article entitled The Future is the Past he writes:

“The recent growth of this trend, especially among the young, suggests that evangelicals are still struggling with an identity crisis. Many 20-and 30-something evangelicals are uneasy and alienated in mall-like church environments; high-energy worship and boomer-era ministry strategies and structures modeled on the business world. Increasingly, they are asking just how these culturally camouflaged churches can help them rise above the values of the consumerist world around them.”

To me, this is fascinating- and challenging- especially given that my fellowship in the Churches of Christ tends to be about ten years behind the curve when it comes to responding to such trends. For instance, we are still fussing about praise teams when the greater Christian world is actually moving away from that type of performance-based worship.

Another trend which CT noted is the rise of Calvinism within the Southern Baptist Convention churches. I will admit that this one semi-shocked me. I don’t get and have never gotten this doctrine of predestination. To me it makes God seem to be cruel. I do understand and appreciate the emphasis Calvin placed on salvation being God’s work and not mans, but pure, hardcore Calvinism (Anyone know what TULIP means?) is a tough pill for me to swallow biblically. Yet it is back and gaining adherents even in churches not of that tradition.

I think all of this revisiting of dusty doctrines and liturgical practices are just indicative of our times. In our post-modern, post-Christian world truth has been turned upside down. Many churches have abandoned their traditional roots to embrace the church growth performance-based mega-church model. The result- among other things- has been a loss of a sense of security and personal connection- and a rediscovering of the ancient traditions.

The challenge now is- at least for me- how to repsond to these trends.

I would appreciate your input.

Searching anyone?

 

No, this post is not about what you may think. It is not some theological discourse on the ramifications of those seekers searching out the Higher Power.

Sorry. This is just a frivolous post about how folks arrive at this sight. I find this interesting and thought you may too.

If you are not aware of how WordPress works here is a very brief tutorial. WordPress tracks all who visit their sights and logs that info on the host’s sight. I have a “blog stats” page which records who gets here and from where. Some visit my blog from their own blogs or from the ever-growing-in-popularity “google reader” (google is taking over the world- in case you did not know. lol) or from somewhere else on the web that may be linked to this site. Others arrive here via web search engines and their searches which land them here are always interesting.

For instance, somewhere along the way I wrote about “finger pointing” or “pointing fingers” and every day a search of these terms leads people here. Not long after I began this blog I shared my ER adventure in which I discovered that one of my pupils is larger than the other. Apparently a bunch of other people have discovered this about themselves too. I have written about football a few times and used a football graphic. Turns out that numerous others are searching for this same graphic. In one brief post I told about my visit to a Pompeii exhibit. I had no idea how the masses are interested in Vesuvius. Twice on this blog I chronicled my visit to the Pepperdine University Lectures. I don’t think you will be surprised at the large number of folks searching out Malibu, California.  Then on some post I guess I mentioned something about a pregnant teen. Way too much traffic on this one.

Folks do regularly search for “Church of Christ” and”Church of Christ preacher.”  Weekly people drop in because of searches for the “Sermon on the Mount” or “kingdom thinking” or “Sunday School” and there is always the occasional specific name search of someone I have mentioned along the way.

And even every now and then a search for “Danny Dodd” will show up. I always wonder though exactly who they were searching for. I do share the name with a former WWE wrestler. Surprise! No body slamming going on at this blog! lol

Anyway, now you know. Thought I would share that with you on a slow Sunday afternoon.

Just know this- that no matter how you arrived here- I am very glad you did! And please, come back soon.

Church Makes You Healthier!

A broad-based 2005-6 study among a wide range of people discovered “that those who attended church weekly or more regularly had a 32 percent reduction in mortality.”

Then there was a 2006 study of British teenagers. It “found that religious observance lowered youth’s risk of developing a meningitis -like disease just as much as a vaccination did.”

Wonder what church all these folks were attending?

I need to remember these facts the next time I preach on Hebrews 10:25 and church attendance!

But really, should this surprise us? Think about what is at the root of so much that ails us- stress, hyper-tension, discontentment, etc. God does prescribe an amazingly healthy spiritual diet that medicates these problems.

Just one text- Philippians 4: 4-9 if followed goes along way to rid our lives of worry and stress.  That peace of God which transcends all understanding which will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus is priceless heavenly medicine.

I am not a believer in the “health and wealth gospel”, but I do find these studies extremely interesting and I am convinced that God’s peace is more powerful then Satan’s chaos.

So go to church! It will make you feel better.

It will make your preacher feel better too!  

The Church of the Frigidaire

He called himself Ish. I would see him walking all around Jackson, MS in his three-piece and wearing that crazy umbrella hat. To be honest I took him to be just another nutcase among many wandering that city- that is- until I gave him a ride. I was feeling “generous” that day and thought I would offer to help him out.

Almost immediately upon him entering my truck I knew it was me who was going to be helped. To thank me for the ride he began singing a hymn accompanied by the skillful playing of spoons. As weird as that sounds it was actually very well done.

Then we started to talk.

Once he found out that I was a preacher- he began preaching. He asked me if I knew of “The Church of the Frigidaire.” “Nope” I replied. “Dr. Jack Frost” is their pastor he said. “Cold hearts, cold hands, cold shoulders and cold feet” made up their membership he claimed. As I chuckled he stared me down and warned, “Don’t go being a part of no Church of the Frigidaire now.” Then he asked me to stop and he got out. And that was that.

I have thought about Ish quite often since then. Could I have entertained an angel unaware? I have read of trumpets in heaven, but spoons? lol

I got his message. I think you get it too.

Don’t go being a part of no Church of the Frigidaire now- you hear?