Phillip recently ordered the book The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church by Reggie McNeal. I started reading it yesterday. Anyway, I just wanted to post a few quotes from the book that I thought were particularly challenging. I'm sure as I keep reading in it, I'll have more things to post about it.
"As He hung on the cross Jesus probably never thought the impact of His sacrifice would be reduced to an invitation for people to join and to support an institution." (1)
"Many church members feel they have been sold a bill of goods. They were promised that if they would be a good church member, if they would rediscover their gifts, or join a small group, sign up for a church ministry, give to the buliding program, lean to clap or dance in worship, or attend this or that, they would experience a full and meaningful life. Trouble is, we don't have much evidence to support the assumption that all this church activity has produced more mature followers of Christ." (8)
"In North America, these people have been led to believe that their Christian life is all about the church, so this failure of the church not only creates doubt about the church, it also leads them to all kinds of doubt about God and their relationship with Him." (8)
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3 comments:
Too many people are worried about "Church," and that's the problem.
The issue is with people having a real and personal relationship with God. If you have that, the "activities of the church" have a place and a meaning — but, you have to do them in that order for there to a be literal "benefit" to a Christ Follower and those who may be touched by the ministry said Christ Follower is in.
At the same time, people in our day and age are told that church exists to solve problems, and many of us are guilty or perpetuating this way of thinking. Rather, the church exists to bolster the faith of Christ Followers so that we'll be more bold about our faith, willing to share with others the knowledge of God we gain in corporate worship, to help us learn to be more like Jesus. Then, when we drive out of the church parking lot, hopefully we encountered God in such a way that we will be salt and light.
When we "fall in love with God," we look to find places of service because we understand the role various ministries serve in supporting our faith as individuals — and as a church body. When we understand we are all part of The Body, we ought to seek to find our role. When we do, we are satisfied and rewarded for fulfilling the role only we can fulfill.
I could go on, believe me, but I'll stop there since I've been spamming your blog all day.
/Didn't check for errors, either
Some of the most disappointing moments in my life have been at church.
Some of the best moments of my life have been at church.
The difference has been the people I'm surrounded with and my attitude about the event.
I think most of our growth as followers of Christ has to do with our attitude.
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