Friday, May 9, 2008

Church- What is the Purpose?

A couple of weeks ago on a TV Show I was watching the topic of church came up. It really started me thinking...What are churches for? A question that was broached on the show was, "Is church a place where questions are to be asked or is it just a place where people go to get answers?" I think that if we only have churches to get answers... how can we get answers if we can't ask the questions? It seems to me that in some churches people only go to make sure that they are putting in their weekly attendance and then they are good. No one goes beyond the surface of finding out how people really are. We do our church thing and say, "Hi, how are you?", "I'm fine Thanks", and "I'll be praying for you". But are we really praying for those people or are we just putting in the lip service because that's what Christians do? Church should be a safe place where questions can be asked, where we can learn more about God and grow in our personal relationship with him. If we can't ask our questions at church where can we go or more importantly what happens to those searching for God if we can't give them a place to learn about God at church of all places. I believe that we are called to be vulnerable with those around us who are fellow believers. We as Christians are called to go beyond the surface questions and find out how people really are doing, what amazing things God is doing in their lives and find out what trials and tribulations they are suffering so we can be their prayer warriors and encourage them in ways we only can if we really know how someone is doing.
So are we "playing" church and putting in our time, or is church just another thing to cross off our weekly to do lists?
We had a guest preacher last Sunday that preached from the passage in Matthew 16:13-20 where it talks about Peter's confession of Christ. Jesus asked his diciples "Who do you say the Son of man is?" Peter answered "You are the Christ, the son of the living God" Do we truly believe this statement as well? I hope so! But the other quetion is do we act like we know that answer, in not only our every days lives, but especially at church? The pastor also talked about masks we wear in our daily lives. Do we act like one person at work, a different person at home, and a totally different person at church? We need to get rid of our masks, and act like the people that God created us to be. Yes, we are not without sin, because we live in a sinful world, but we were also made in the image of God, so we should behave as though we are images of him.
At the end of Matthew in the great commission, Matthew 28: 18-20- it says- "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. This is what Jesus asks of us, but how can we accomplish this if we keep all of our different masks for all the different parts of our life. We will be sending people the wrong message about what it means to be a follower of Christ.
So, my challenge to you, let's throw away those masks, let's stop "playing" church (if that's what we are doing) and let's change what Church is for. Let's make it a place to learn about God, to ask those questions we are wanting to know, and let's truly become brothers and sisters in Christ by dropping the act of pretending that everything is fine and dandy, when we all know that is not always true. There are hurting people everywhere, even in our churches. Let's make church a place where it is okay to hurt and bring that hurt to God, so he can help those in need of his tender loving care. You don't to be perfect to be a Christian, and it's a good thing, because we'd all be in trouble. So, let's change what Church is really for and get beyond sitting through a church service (No offense to anyone who is a Pastor, including you Dad!) and delve into meaningful relationships and ask those questions you've always wanted to ask!