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being
truly different
we
were all sitting around one night this week talking about a ton of
different stuff, and as pastors our conversation turned to the church.
as we discussed the future of the church in america, and most of us felt
good about the possibilities - if the church could stand the changes
ahead; here's what i mean.
many
churches today - fundamental and liberal - teach a "cultural
faith" - a faith based on "good old american values" like
independence, democracy, being a patriotic person, faith based on the
"red, white and blue" and the perceived values of the 1950's
(even though most of us were not even born yet).
for
example, try to start something new at a fundamentalist, or liberal,
congregationalist church - it has to go before six committees and
receive a vote of two-thirds the membership (regardless of if they
attend church or not) before any action can be taken - where in the
scripture is this model of church? I know of people who have not
set foot in a church in three years, but show-up every time there is a
vote on hiring a new pastor, or giving the current pastor a raise -
where is the scripture to support such an action? but
denominations allow for this because by keeping membership levels up for
the local church, they increase the funding to the denomination
"muck-idie-mucks" - where is the scriptural support for such
actions?
try to
get something done in a fundamental baptist church - without the
pastor's personal stamp of approval - no way - where is this a
scriptural model for such an action? i know a fundamental baptist
pastor who had a unwed pregnant teen kicked out of the church - while
his son, the father of the child, received a church scholarship to bible
college - where is the scripture to support that?
this one
is my personal favorite - try to get something past a liberal mainline
church (methodist, episcopal, lutheran ect) by the time it gets out of
committee and by the time everyone has taken the "offensive"
material out - it is so watered down it is of no use to anyone and is
not recognized by the people who put the idea forward - where is this
model in scripture?
over the
past i have heard pastors, and other church leaders, claim that the
church "is only human" and that it is "pledged with the
same pains and problems found in the rest of the world" - but where
is the scriptural support for such an understanding? you see, i
believe to claim to be a follower of christ you must change, for the
better - people inside the church must be loving, open, welcoming and
forgiving - but they are not. most people in church have no
understanding of forgiveness - absolute forgiveness. they have
replaced "forgiveness" with a concept of "good old
american justice." one of my personal favs is the
american concept "tough love." no place in scripture are
the words "tough" and "love" used together - no
where. in fact, paul tells us that love is not to be tough - it is
to be kind, forgiving, and open - it is always to forgive, always to
accept and always to push us beyond our personal safety zone and into
the danger of standing naked before the world, looking the fool - can
you love like that?
tod (my
wife) looked at me the other night and asked why i did not call myself a
"christian?" (i call myself a "follower of jesus")
i told her one of the reason (someday i will write an article on all the
reasons) was, all the christians i know are in the church worshiping
jesus, while all his followers are in the parks, bars, dance halls,
movie theaters, shopping malls and parking lots living life and sharing
the gospel with those who are hurting - radical, no; scriptural,
yes.
you see
i believe the people of the church must be different from the world
around us - if not, why should anyone go to church - after all, it is
not required for salvation. if the people in the church are no
better then the people outside the church - why go?
blessings
pastor
john
John
O’Keefe is the founder of www.ginkworld.net.
John sees a desperate need for the church as a whole to
change and reach a new people for Christ.
He is straightforward, honest and calls it the way it he
sees it. John is a
graduate of Drew and has been a Senior Pastor and Church Planter
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