the church of tradition,
the church of my roots,
the church of my parents,
the church of my friends,
the church of playtime,
the church that's over in fifteen minutes,
the church that serves lunch,
the church of gossips,
the church of my social class,
the church of my color,
the church of social hour,
the church that serves,
the church that prays,
the church where they dress nice,
the church where I can wear jeans,
the church where they are nice to me,
the church where I'm important,
the church that plays,
the church that is right,
the church that rebels,
the church with the best music,
the church that doesn't sing too much,
the church where the cute guy goes,
the church where the hot girl is,
the church where I don't feel lonely,
the church where my kids are happy,
the church that's down the street,
the church that feeds the hungry,
the church that kicks them out,
the church that won't make me do anything,
the church that requires much,
the church that everyone else goes to,
the church with the new building,
the church that makes me feel good,
the church that makes me think,
the church that . . .
Maybe that's the wrong question.
Why?
Why do we worship?
Who?
Who do we worship?
Sometimes I feel confused. Sometimes I feel our motivation is all wrong. Is it more about us than Him? Is it all about our comfort, our wants, our needs? The arguments of the past are null and void. Have we forgotten our first love?
To be honest...I don't feel where is the issue at all. It's who.
If we don't know Whom we worship, then it's not worship at all.
The where fails to impress as soon as you consider who.
I switched churches about a year and a half ago. I grew up Roman Catholic, even attended Catholic school through the 8th grade. I religiously (pun intended) attended mass EVERY week. But I never really had a relationship with God our Father or Jesus His son. I now attend a non-denominational church that I used to call “the cult” or “six flags over Jesus” because of the size of this place.
ReplyDeleteMy family attends every Sunday morning. My kids really like their large and small groups and the knowledge gained there. I know lots of people there. We can wear jeans or shorts (I’m usually overdressed). But those aren’t the reasons why we attend. In fact, I didn’t like the music. Knowing so many old hymns, I was not fond of the newer, hip music. I didn’t (and really still don’t) like the commercials. That’s right, on the HUGE video boards where they convey information at the beginning. I didn’t really care for the dress. If I wear slacks and a long-sleeve shirt for the man every day, why wouldn’t I wear it for the Father on Sunday?
The question you didn’t ask was “When?” When do I attend church? When do I get the most out of it? On Friday nights at Celebrate Recovery! Those of us there on Friday nights have been washed by His blood and received His grace. Those of there know why we’re there…and it’s not for the jeans, or the music (though I now really like it…it’s the message, not the tune), or the location.
I never thought I’d use the word “witness” in my life to describe myself. It seemed like such a Protestant word. What did that really mean? Going door to door? Bible thumping at work? Being pushy with my friends? I can’t wait to go on Friday nights and witness His grace, His forgiveness, His plan at work. I can’t wait to share my story and witness to those newcomers who thought the same thing I did… “How can I get that smile on my face? How do I get some of that joy into my life? How can I stop feeling so hopeless?” Let me tell you how. Let me witness. It’s through Jesus’ forgiveness. It’s trusting, but also seeing His plan in action. It’s unbelievable what I see now. It’s crazy how peace and grace are there for the taking….if you want it.
So when I’m there on Sunday morning and I look around, I see literally thousands of people who probably need to be there on Friday. And when I’m there on Friday night, I see maybe a couple hundred who could probably just attend once a week (instead of three….I rarely miss my Wednesday group) and be just fine because they know what they’ve found and they’re not going to let it go. But as we say, “It works if you work it, and it won’t if you don’t!” So they’re there. And so am I. When are you?
~casey
Well said. Thanks for adding that!
ReplyDeleteI'm under the impression that since we are not necessarily commanded to attend a certain number of times, we no longer make a priority out of it. Again though...we miss the point and our priorities are confused. If He truly was our priority we'd be there...all the time.