Church… The Way It Should Be.

October 18th, 2010 | Posted in » Christian Living, Church Stuff..., My Life / Family

I’m a Christian… I don’t think that’s any secret. I try to make Jesus not just an everyday part of my life, but the very central part of my life. And I’ve got an awesome church family at Missouri Valley Baptist, where I attend worship every Sunday and serve alongside some amazing people.

So you’ll understand that I was quite intrigued when I arrived home this evening to find some literature hanging on my door. The cover, facing out at me?

“CHURCH… THE WAY IT SHOULD BE”

Yes, this was a packet of information on another local church. The tagline sucked me right in. I was MOST curious to find out how church SHOULD be done.

Sadly, I was disappointed to find out that my church did just about everything wrong. Oh yeah… we’re practically hell-bound, from what I read:

• Contemporary worship? HOW COULD YOU?
• No suit and tie? HOW CAN YOU DISHONOR GOD THAT WAY?
• No King James Bible? HERETIC!
• No Sunday evening service or Wednesday night service? GET THEE AWAY FROM ME SATAN!

You see, when I read the tagline on that flyer, I erroneously assumed this church’s intent was to reach out to people outside a relationship with Jesus, maybe those who had felt burned by other churches. And it probably was (after all, they did include the plan of salvation and the pastor’s testimony). But the message, as it came across?

“Hey, if you want the good ol’ days of church again… if you’re irritated and just can’t take any more of that contemporary worship in your church… come check us out. We know how you like church. And we would love to have you come join us.”

I truly hope that this church DOES reach someone who needs Jesus. Really. If one person comes to know God as a result… all the time, energy, and dollars they’ve placed into these packets was worth it.

But my prediction of the result of these packets? This church is most likely going to suck in some disgruntled members from other churches seeking a church that offers the old Burger King promise… “Have it your way”. And those people will probably be perfectly happy worshipping God in that community… so long as it continues to do church… “THE WAY IT SHOULD BE”.

Christians? Let’s get about the business God intends. Beating back the darkness…. getting outside the walls of the church… truly making a difference in the lives of those who need Jesus most.

Shuffling of church members over personal preference just isn’t what Jesus died for.