The Bride

She stood at the back of the church building waiting to join her groom at the Alter. Her white dress looked clean and beautiful at first.
As the bride drew closer to her groom a few in the audience began to see and smell something.
They noticed stains and dirty spots on the dress but when they tried to point them out to the bride’s handlers they were shushed or shunned and some ushered right out the doors.
As the bride got closer to her groom the dirt had turned to mud and the smell unbearable still most said not a word.
When a few did speak up protectors would say “no one is perfect, she’s only human, what do you expect, you can’t ask questions?”
As bride got closer to her love, the stains could no longer be ignored.
Try as they may to silence the guests by covering their eyes, ears and mouths the truth was too obvious to ignore.
The story is not over, words are in place and sentences spoken that move preparations ahead.
Some fight and claw to keep the pages from turning. To protect what is, they refuse to look for what is to come. They are afraid to look beyond what they know, what they’ve always been told and so they are idle.
The audience is breathless as it watches for the groom to pull out His pen and expose the rest of the story.

My Steeples Bigger Than Yours.

Ever notice how we Christians call it “My Church.” We act as though the church belongs to us when it doesn’t.

One of the first things believers do when they meet another Christian is line you up to see where you fit in.

The question is “Where do you go to church?” My answer is always “How can I GO to what I am?”

We are the church and the lines we’ve drawn between us are wrong.

Each year there’s a cycle and this year church “A” is the popular spot. Followers move from place to place for better worship or a kids program that works for them.

We say we accept others and admire what they are doing but the competition to grow and rise to mega-church status is so great the club becomes more important than the church. Church growth becomes the goal not relationships. How can one really be accountable in an organization with thousands yet when someone says they don’t go to a institutional church we use the “accountability speech ” to try to lure them back?
I wonder that most of us are clueless when it comes to what church really is or should I say how God really designed His church?

We talk of following the first century church but are so far from that I wonder how we ever find our way back (Remember, those folks followed the law and not many of us are willing to do that if asked by God)?

When God looks at the church today do you think He see’s one church with members here and there or do you think He finds the place with the best worship service and shows up for that show?

The American Church looks just like a business because it is. We’ve turned a relationship into a business and the bigger our buildings the more we have to bring in to pay for all of it.

Churches today center around the pastor and what he or she wants to do. We tell people I go to “Pastor Ron’s Church” when in fact it’s supposed to be Jesus’ Church.

We call it “our” church when it’s one body or at least that’s how it’s supposed to be. Churches compete for members and try new stunts to get people through the doors. The problem is stunts don’t change lives they just get people to buy-in. Holding them there, walking with them and serving them takes more than a good show.

We rationalize our commercialization of Christianity in the name of salvation. We figure if we are leading people to the kingdom marketing is okay.

Jesus was a terrible marketer. He called people to follow Him and He knew He would be killed like a common criminal. He asked and still asks people to leave their families, their homes and their security to follow Him not to find a place that “Fits” so we can feel needed.Let’s face it, selling Christianity is pretty tough when faced with all that it takes to truly live the life of Christ.

What attracted people to the faith is Jesus not the coffee shop in the church lobby. A cup of Joe may seem cool and lure folks for a few weeks but its not something they’ll be willing to die for if they have to and that is the biggest problem.

We are not needed by God we are loved by Him and there is a huge difference that is lost in current church culture.

The next time you meet a fellow believer listen to the questions you ask and when you walk away ask yourself why you ask those questions. If you listen the answers may surprise you.

PS: Don’t get me wrong I think church is important and being together (two or more) is amazing. But we have to stop playing church and start living it. I’m not saying all congregations are like this but I am critical of the model we’ve adopted as “The Way.” I’m sure your pastor is different and your congregation is on the right track but what if we’re all messed up? If God allows us to ask these questions to better our understanding is that so wrong? But questions make Christians uncomfortable because many of us already think we know the answers don’t we?

Is It Bad to Get Mad? No

I’m reading a book about the church and I’m getting very angry.
Not angry in a bad way but angry in a sad way.
I was having church with a friend yesterday and we were talking about this idea of church.
We talked of church history and how the Bible came to become what it is today.
We talked about the first century church and how believers back then actually followed the old laws (and yet we don’t).
We were digging and sorting and wondering how the church got to the place it is today.
Does the current church look like Christ?

The current church is closer to a business model than anything else.
The more questions you ask the more emails you get from those who want to stick up for the church because they can overlook it’s flaws and find something to hang on to.
If we did this in our personal lives would we ever grow? If someone told us something wasn’t working in our business do we ignore it, dig our heels in, and move full steam ahead? Do we say to those people “My business is made up of imperfect people?”
If you do, you end up without a business.
The more I read (my Bible) the less I see of Jesus’ reflection in the current model of His church.
Is that wrong? (I’m not looking for an answer here.)
This week has been a difficult one for me. God has exposed many things about myself I really didn’t want to see. So, should I avoid them or lift my eyes and look deeply into the reflection so I can better understand what doesn’t work?
I’m not out to change or fix but rather to understand. If we can understand and really look at ourselves and this thing called the church, perhaps we’ll find a better way of “being it.”
I refuse to be the same today as I was yesterday and that means I have to look at some ugly stuff, in my case that means me.
For the church, we have to stop making excuses and face facts. If we don’t do you really think God is going to allow this to continue?
The good news is it will change but not because you or I do anything. It will change because God created the church and He is God. He can do whatever He wants and in the end He will.

Change is coming

Change is on the way and we aren’t going to like it.
How do I know? I don’t know I just know.
I look at how desperate political types are and the problem is the only people listening are the die-hards.
I look at God’s people and how unwilling we are to change, not our principles but our commitment to religion and it scares me.
I read about layoffs and then turn up at a local store and see how little inventory is in stock and I smell trouble.
I’ve written three articles that just sit on my computer because I know the response that will follow and part of me is too tired to listen to the rhetoric, there will be so much rhetoric.
The other day a guy walked up to me to offer his opinion on something political and I asked him to be quiet.
I really did, I couldn’t believe it came out of my mouth but I’m so tired of people barfing up the same tired verbiage and refusing to look for answers.
Changes are coming. Life as we knew it is not coming back. Unfortunately we will turn out to be our own worst enemy.

Fish On at Redoubt Mountain Lodge

Everyone has a secret fishing hole, we’ll at Redoubt Mountain the secret is out. Not only is this a great place to stay it’s an awesome place to fish. Check out our video.

We Started a Church

Sitting in a coffee shop I’m ready to talk with God.

It’s just me, a friend, a cup of coffee, a Bible, some books and a jar with a little wine in my coat pocket.

On a whim I called the guy and said let’s meet at the coffee shop at 7:15 Sunday Morning.  We had no agenda, no study materials, we forgot the worship band and since we both have jobs we didn’t need a collection plate.

We just sat there and did church. What that consisted of is unimportant. If I told you someone (including myself) might try to make it into a formula.

We prayed out loud but didn’t bow our heads, raise our hands or in anyway try to draw attention to what we were doing. We didn’t need to try to be “Christian Examples” for others to see. What many of us fail to understand is when we do some of those very natural “Christian” things the world is turned off not turned on to Jesus.

I’m not ashamed of what I believe but I lost that desire to be an example somewhere between church A and Church B. Instead I live my life the best I can and trust God to do what He wants with it after all He is God and He’s really powerful.

My dad used to like to pray out loud in restaurants and even hold hands because he thought it was a good example for others. He and I don’t agree on that so I don’t do it. If you do, that’s fine, to each his own.

Towards the end of our time (in church) I pulled out the little jar with red wine in it. We pretended to break bread and drank a little swig of wine, prayed for each other and went home.

It was really quite cool. It felt unplanned and organic.

We’ll probably do it again but there is no set schedule or time. We may meet at the base of the South Sister sometime and invited a bunch of you to join us. We want to climb the mountain and try something really difficult to challenge our beliefs and see where we stand.

My opening statement was a lie. I just used it to get your attention. I have no intention of starting what Jesus already began.

As I think of it how can anyone really start a church? Jesus already did that. Perhaps that’s part of the problem we keep trying to recreate what He already created. We have this urge to add to what needs no additions.

Perhaps we keep planning and building and adding and blah, blah, blah when we don’t need to?