Doing Church Better

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love the men in our fellowship. I eagerly look forward to any opportunity to be with them. Whether it is during the week, or in the process of doing 'Church,' I thoroughly enjoy every one of them. Yesterday's Men's group only served to reinforce my opinion of them. Last week, I assigned them to read chapter 10 once more and be prepared to explain one way we could “do church better.” It was a trick question, and I knew they would figure out what I was asking.  I also know from experience, that there are groups where the answers would be akin to things like: We could be friendlier. We could tone down or turn up the music. We need to shorten or lengthen the service. Change the carpet, move the pulpit, get a new Pastor. Our men knew what I was asking, and their answers were the kind of answers that reveal how we view ourselves.

I'm not going to waste a lot of time saying who said it, but here is a list of what was said.

• We could be more committed to one another and God. We need to come together to pray more.
• We need to give each other a greater degree of significance.
• We need to increase our devotion to one another, and take responsibility for our own actions.
• We need to strengthen one another and be more concerned with the welfare of others.
• We need to be interested in others.
• We need to do what we can do and stop waiting for others to do it
• We need to love more.
• We need to look outward toward the needs outside of our fellowship.
• We need to listen to the Holy Spirit more, and use His gifts more.

There were more people there, but some of the men repeated what others had already said. We barely made it around the table, so there wasn't much time for me to sew everything up into a nice neat bundle.

Chapter Ten of Bond of Brothers is a tough chapter. If you read my last blog, you know why. All across American, and to some extent, the World, we've faltered in our understanding of what 'Church' is. Church has become a verb instead of a noun. We've tacked it onto the end of our illustrious name we give ourselves, and we expect people to be able to discern the difference between our name and what we do. I believe it is why, except for a chosen few, 'church' is nothing more than two or three hours a week.

The reason it fails as a social experiment, is because you can't 'do' church. You are either the 'called out' or you aren't. You can have the most magnificent building, unending talent, genuinely interested leaders, and fantastic entertainment, but in the end you will have nothing more than an over glorified social club that does wonderful things in the guise of religion. Wes Yoder understands one thing that has somehow been lost in our attempts to 'do' church. The 'Church' is people, and we were made to have relationship with one another through Christ. That is why it is called a 'Body' by the Apostle Paul. The life's blood that flows through us, and holds us together, is the blood of Jesus. It is His Holy Spirit that bonds us together at a molecular level. Without the Holy Spirit, we are nothing more than individuals being held in a 'christian' shaped cake pan. We may have all the ingredients, be completely devoted to one another, and even mingle together, but until we've been mixed together to the point to where you can't tell us apart, we haven't attained.

Don't get me wrong, I believe God loves our unique qualities. You can't make a cake with flour only. A cake is made up of a host of ingredients, but until they are blended together, they are individuals that are barely palatable apart. So, to the men who pointed to our need for more of the Holy Spirit, my hat is off to you. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches us to love (1 Thessalonians 4:9) . Every effort to love by your own strength is noble, but if will fall short of the LOVE that you are capable of in Christ's Spirit. Dinner and Conversations without Christ's Spirit are nothing more than what men and women have done through the ages when they've met around the fire with nothing else to do. As Christians, we are told why we come together, and it would surprise you what that reason is. Why? Because so many fellowships and denominations have missed the point. A matter of fact, Christ never instructed us to meet together once or twice a week. HE EXPECTED MORE! He never provided us a model for how to 'worship' him except for one short sentence, “they shall worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.” That was all the instruction for worship he gave us. Why? Because all the previous instructions were still valid, but unheeded. If you don't do what you've already been told to do, why tell you to do anything more. His instructions were simple; Be Holy, love Justice, Love HIM, and Love one another.

Those of you who argue over form, music, style, size, and a host of other insignificant things, you need to revisit the Holy Spirit. Those things pale in the Presence of God. Even Solomon when he was desiring to build a temple for God, understood that the purpose of the Temple wasn't to house God, but for us to approach Him. Our fellowship, and Worship services, are for us to come to him, gain strength from one another, and then go out into our daily lives with His Spirit within us. The Church is waiting for us to come in, and the World needs Christ to come out with us. Anything less than HIS Spirit is a waste of time.