I'm not sure how many parts I will post before I think of another name for a post...but for now it's part two. The irony is that as I blog my family is watching my most hated show, american idol. This show stands for everything I stand against, well not all I stand against but a lot of it. But what worries me more is that our churches are taking clues from shows like this and allowing them to give us the theology of our services. We want to be like them, we think success is how many butts are in our seats watching our "God show". It's a "me" church culture where we come and consume. Most churches don't text for the pastor they like but we do choose our church "family" based on how it fits us, our liking, or feelings. Week after week americans "go to church" and cast their vote for the best.
Now I don't think we ought to boycott technology or not use the arts in our service... but do we ever stop and ask why? We are all about the "what". This even rolls into our lives as we long for the "better" and just think we need a new "what" to help us. What book can I read to help me with sin, what pastor can I podcast to fix my marriage, what verses can I read to help me with my anger...But do we ever ask the why? Pastors, we have to realize that what we do in our services is being lived out in our church family in the details of life. If we are performing for them each week so they can consume our jesus product then why are we amazed that they live their christian life looking for the next fix, the next product, the next "what" to fix them.
So I am learning to ask these questions. The question is not about the "Me Church" but about the King Jesus and His bride. Why does God want worship from His people and why don't we worship. Why do we do what we do each week at our gatherings and how are the elements of the service being played out in the church in our communities each week? Maybe we should give people more than 30 seconds to "greet a visitor" if we want them to spend more than 30 seconds each week to meet a new neighbor or friend. Maybe we should preach first, declare the truth of God and that life ought to be worship...before we ask them to worship in song. BTW- I'm learning all this as I go and I'm not suggesting a hippy fest each week where we sit around and chat about God and stuff. But what if I as a pastor realized that every week I was a part of a "teachable moment" and that I might be teaching more from the "why" of what we do, then just what I "preach" in my sermon.
This is why we take communion each week. By doing it weekly, we put Jesus at the center of the service each week. We tell the family before we start to preach or sing that we are going to take communion. We tell them that if the preaching, music or decorations are not up to their standard... it's ok because we came here to remember Jesus. His life, death, resurrection and His spirit that is alive in us today. We remind them that we are going to confess our sin and our need for Jesus. And that as we take communion we are being reminded of this mystical picture... that Jesus is in us being sent back out to our community, culture and families. It amazes me that no mater what the text is that we preach out of, or what story of God we tell, or if we have a family business meeting for an hour on Sunday... by taking communion every week the Gospel is proclaimed, we repent of sin and we are sent back out on the kingdom mission. We are reminded that we don't have to go and "be" jesus because the reality is that we are Jesus carriers.
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