The Bride...

A friend and I have been carrying on a conversation on my Myspace page about the church. It seems to me that there is a growing number of people who are dissatisfied with the current situation of the church...at least here in America. It isn't limited to young people either. I've had conversations with people in their 50's who have been Christians for years. The disappointment in what she has become is spread far and wide. I think that's why so many people are willing to do church plants. But sooner or later, it seems even they turn into the same old same old. In his last email, my friend asked me what the church would look like if I could start from scratch. I find this interesting because that's pretty much the situation I find myself in. But, even in my perfect world, there is a difference between desire and reality. So, I won't go over where we are, but more where I would like to be.

First, the thought of a church conjures up images of community. I was talking with my Dad earlier this year about the church and I asked him why the church doesn't look like it did in early Acts. I was talking about the whole selling of possesions and sharing everything. He said that they did that out of necessity. That it had to be their way of life to survive. I like the thought of that. That it becomes a way of life, living in the church. A way of survival. So much so, that if we don't, somehow the essential message of Jesus will be lost. This is always a tough sell though, because the more growth that occurs the less community seems to happen. How do we balance this? I don't know.

Second, the thought of church conjures up ancient rituals. Baptism, candles, chants, scripture memorization, prayers, incense, meditation, and communion. I like the thought of connecting with Christ the same way some of it's early fouders did. If this is what they did only centries after he left, why can't we use them milliniums later? I'm not even opposed to some of that stuff that has been in the news lately. There's a secret (oooh, doesn't that sound appealing?) organization called 'Opus Dei'. The Davinci Code paints these people as the keeper of the secret of Christ's bloodline. But the cool part is, they really do exist. Basically, they use pain as a way of connecting with God. They wear this bob-wire type of bracelet around their thigh for a couple of hours a day. They use a cat-o'-nine-tails type whip to help them in their meditation. Now, most use this one made of yarn and other harmless materials, but the founder of the sect used a much more realistic one that would make him bleed EVERYTIME! Crazy!

Thirdly, the thought of church makes me want to give, both monitarily and personally. I think of encouraging Christians in Muslim countries. I think of inviting homeless people into our home. I think of people who realize that this world is temporary, and so are their possesions. This is one I struggle with a lot. We live so comfortable. We give 10% to the church, and we still have plenty. It would be hard for me to give that up. Really, really hard. I think of the rich young ruler. We always assume that he couldn't do it. I like to think he did. I like to think he struggled with it. That the look on Jesus's face was burned into his psyche until he couldn't help it. Maybe it wasn't till years and years later, when death was approaching and he looked over his land with tears in his eyes and knew he had missed out on so much that the Lord was wanting to do for him.

D, the thought of church reminds me of worship. I know, I know, there are all different ways to worship. But it seems from the Israelites to the early Church, corporate worship was a big part of what they did. What if we took the phrase, "everything I do for God is worship" and made it, "worship is everything." What if maybe one week there wasn't a sermon. But the worship was the sermon. I dont know, but I know that I have been starved for worship ever since I left the mainstream church and I miss it deeply.

The church should also be a place of confession. Yes, confession. Maybe this falls into the ancient stuff or not, I don't know, but I know it's needed. I think one of the biggest ways Satan binds us is with the thought of being judged. You know what? We need to be judged. We need to have someone else who is imperfect look into our lives and help us clean it up. I know I recently went through something like this, and while it scared me to death, when it was all said and done, it was one of the best experiences of my life. To be able to say to others, I SIN, and know that they love you and want to help restore your walk with God, well, that's the church.

These are just a few of my ideas, but I wanted to get this post out because it has been gnawing inside of me.