***WARNING: DIRECT & TRUTHFUL CONTENT BELOW. MAY RUFFLE FEATHERS.*** ;)
Been thinking a lot about what church is and what that looks like today vs. what corporate worship looked like in Bible times. The dogmatic material on what modern day church should and shouldn't be. How it came about and why we don't need to be apart of it. And honestly guys, it grieves me. It makes me sad to think that people like to take scripture and modern popular opinion to make it fit their needs and agenda. To use as a means to feel like they don't have to attend church-all in the name of it being a "man made" tradition. The theological differences and denominations (and really, separation) in the Christian faith makes me sick. At the end of the day, I know our job is to love one another regardless of the differing views. That doesn't mean I will stand by and tickle peoples ears that think it is ever okay to abandon the concept of going to church.
We are part of a generation today that truly does not know how to forgive or submit properly to leadership. Even outside of the church, this is true. There are church splits, there are people leaving with unforgiveness in their hearts and allowing their soul to become hardened to leadership & the concept of having to submit. SUBMIT. Ugh, that word sounds so harsh, right?! But only because the rebellion of today's generation has made it so. Submission to Christ and your covering is such a powerful thing. There is such security & freedom in submission. (I know, I bet you never thought you would see submission explained as freeing). But that is the point. There is a gross misunderstanding of what freedom looks like. It doesn't mean being out from under a weight. It means that when you are in a loving, healthy covenant with a leadership team, you are simply in a mindset of DESIRING to come under what they believe that God has led them to so long as the doctrine is sound. You feed from their wisdom and God-appointed leadership. Get this-YOU ACTUALLY CARE WHAT THEY THINK & heed their advice. Mind blown, eh?! ;)
You know what else? The spirit behind it makes me even more grieved. The attitude of "how can I get out of going to church and justify said actions to make myself feel less guilty?" Oh, snap. I just said that. What story does your heart tell? If I peeled back the layers of the motive and reasoning-what would I find? More importantly, what would Jesus find? Laziness? Rebellion? A bad experience in church? Lets all put on our big girl and boy pants and forgive people. It doesn't mean that you weren't wronged. It doesn't mean you didn't have a reason to be upset. It simply means that you understand what Jesus did on the cross & you come to an understanding that your brother deserves that same forgiveness that Christ has extended to you. You see, I have thought about this a lot. I have thought about my deep love and admiration for The Lord & how my love for Him drives me to WANT to attend church. To get accountability. To strive to mimic what Jesus himself did in The Bible-to take a day out of the week to GO TO THE SYNAGOGUE & to honor that day as His sabbath. So the question is-why NOT go to church? Do we not want to stand out from the world? James 1:27 talks about being "unstained from the world".
Before you message me in a huff, can you please take a moment to consider and breathe? Take into account that although in the New Testament there is no distinction made in regards to "clergy" or "laity", there is a clear distinction between "leaders" and "followers" in the church at that time. The Bible uses different titles to reference specific leaders, called "Elders". Acts 20:17 & 28 speaks of these specific positions and how they are clearly designed to be a headship. Not all equal. Now, if you know me personally, and know that I attend my Dad's church, then insert all your eye rolls here. If you want to use that as a means to discredit the content of the message I am sharing in this post, go ahead. Do not be mistaken, I have not been a pinnacle of perfection in this area. I have rebelled. I have dealt with hardness in my heart. But I chose and still choose to pursue health in this area of my life. Balance, wholeness. The bottom line? This principle applies across all churches, to all people (myself included), regardless of who I am and how I fit into this message. My prayer is that you take this article and instead of getting offended, examine your heart and reasoning behind not believing in the concept of attending a church. WWJD? <---------- Yes, he would be out in the streets and meeting people where they are at, but you bet he would be the first to ride the church pews on Sunday.
I will leave you with my favorite scripture right now:
"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfullness."
Psalm 37:3 ESV
Befriend faithfullness. Woah.
Much love from a reformed rebel,
Shelli
XO
