Turning the Tide...

Just recently, I've got to admit that my heart has been shifting a bit. For the past two years I've been sort of stuck in a rut in terms of my relationship with the Church. Actually, I've never really had a problem with the Church as I view it in terms as being the "Body of Christ", or the "Bride of Christ", as I perceive the Bible to teach that it is. Rather, my issue has been with the organization and institution that has borrowed the name "church" and has led to not a little pain and suffering. I've felt the sting of the pain and suffering firsthand, from the inside, and that's part of the reason that I joined the exodus away. The secondary reason, and perhaps, in the long run, the more critical reason, is that I began to see through a new set of eyes, eyes that I now feel are vindicated the more I search the Scriptures of the Bible for truth and light. I see a Christ who calls us to love and forgive rather than gather stones and work on our pitching arms. I see a Christ who commands us to train to take a punch rather than to throw one. I see a Jesus who, rather than sharing a biblical budgeting plan complete with 401K incentives and a Christmas turkey, instead challenges us to leave all, sell all, and give to the poor and the marginal. This is what I've learned in the past two years.

We are called to live a life that is separate from that of the world. Yet the church looks more like the world than we're willing to admit. We build big buildings, put on fancy shows, adopt musical styles, tailor our services in being "seeker sensitive". In some respects, these are not bad things. The problem is, for so many within the church, that's where it stops. We're given messages that challenge us to love our families, be wise with our finances, and bring someone to church. Woo freakin' hoo! Dr. Phil could have given me that advice. What makes us different? What makes us something apart from the world?

That's the question that I'm warming to now. I'm warming to the idea, bizarre as it might sound, of diving back into the church subculture with the heart to work at living right within it and helping to transform it. There are people hungry for the true gospel, a gospel that calls us out and sends us to love, forgive, heal, and care. There is a greater call, a more beautiful call, that Christ has upon my life, upon our lives. I want to learn to love others, to see the Jesus in them. I have to start now.