Saturday, August 17
CHURCH IS A FAMILY NOT AN
ORGANIZATION!
Eph 3:14-16
14 For this cause I bow my knees
unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family
in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you,
according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his
Spirit in the inner man;
I’m concerned
that churches are losing their family appeal and function. Most glaring and
most accepted compartmentalization of the church is the removal of the youth
group as a separate society. We hire professionals to deal with them during the
most formative years of their lives when, in reality, the teen needs to be part
of the family.
We are so afraid
of losing young people from the church that we fail at reaching them for
Christ. Churches compete with each other for the “coolest” programs and teens
respond by developing a cultural disloyalty to their home church. They travel
from church to church looking for the “fun-est” games and the most tasty
treats. If they learn anything about themselves or about God it is accidental.
Perhaps this is why
some churches look like comedy improv clubs and pastors look, and act, like
comedians. Music is karaoke! Sermons are carefully crafted to be inspirational
without being offensive. The result is a selfish and sensitive culture hard to
please, easily offended, and almost void of responsibility.
We no longer
refer to one another as brother and sister. We call the pastor by his first
name, if we know it, instead of by his title. In my family, it would be a
dishonor to speak to my dad using his first name. He was my Dad.
Family can be messy
but members of it recognizes the connection and responsibilities involved. Clubs
are easier to walk away from. Churches have formed the vagabond
membership they now decry.
Acts 2:1
2 And when the day of Pentecost was
fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Dear Lord, let my commitment to my
church be like the unbreakable bond of family. AMEN
No comments:
Post a Comment