Doing Things Differently

You know, in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain did something very tricky. He lured his brother, Abel into a field where he could murder and then bury his brother in the field, where he thought no one would know. He said "Hey, Abel, come here, let me know you this. Meet me out there." Then as Abel showed up, little did he know that his life was ending shortly after.

A lot of times, I believe churches and church people do that. I believe we will ask someone to come check out something great in our fields, meet us there. There's great worship, great preaching, great friends, come check it out with me! YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS! And when they come to the "field" or the church, they are left out to dry, not knowing that in just minutes their lives may end. How will they end? They could be shunned, they could be frowned upon, they may not understand something, they may be asked to sit in another seat because "my family sits here every week". I believe churches have become people and places to HOUSE the presence of God rather than HONOR the presence!

What does that mean? That means, we like to come to church and get the goosebumps because the air conditioning is too cold (HOUSING), but when it comes to welcoming/caring/loving someone new or different it's a chore (HONORING). The blessings of God come when we HONOR, not HOUSE! See 1 Samuel 4-6.

I believe that we as a church need to come back together as a BODY not a denomination. We need to unify the means by which we all believe, Jesus Christ, and allow HIM to be our guardian and our love.

People say, "we can't be too seeker", "Atmosphere doesn't matter", "GOD is the draw"... which there are parts of each of those statements that I agree with, I also understand that Joe Blow out walking down the road that doesn't care about God isn't going to be drawn by God, he will be drawn by the HONOR of the presence, exhibited by the relationships, culture, and love in the church and the church people.

I believe we need to all realize one thing: Christianity isn't about perfection, it's about relationship! To have a successful relationship, it takes investment, intimacy, and sacrifice... 3 things I think a lot of us have forgotten. But I think God is calling us back to!

So what will I do? I will refuse to allow myself to simply HOUSE the presence, I will descipline myself to HONOR the presence. I refuse to be so stuck on a tradition that I can't see the importance of people, drawn together by the love of Christ! Whether that means a new song, a different atmosphere, or something else isn't up to me, that's HIS decision!