We've LOST CHRISTIANITY

Despite the thousands in our megachurches today, soaking up
the warm entertainment offered to them every week, I want to put
it to you that we have lost Christianity. Despite the Christian books
now found in every Walmart, and the "crossover" of Christian
artists into the mainstream, and our Christian mega-stores and
CD's and DVD's and Study-Bibles, I want to put it to you that we
have lost Christianity.

Despite our lavish Cathedrals in the suburbs ('Charismatic or
not) with their pastel hues and comfortable pews, their projector
screens and $30,000 sound systems, I want to put it to you that
we have utterly lost Christianity.

We left it behind somewhere when we shifted our churches from
the inner city into the "comfortable" suburbs. We left it behind when
we stopped welcoming the bums off the street into our meetings
and started welcoming only the "respectable" people. We left it
behind when we stopped preaching "take up your cross" and
turned the gospel into a success formula - 'Seven Steps to your
Best Life Now.'

Somewhere in our comfortable suburban streetscape with its
manicured lawns we lost the real thing. Somehow in our concern
for "property values" and a better 'dental plan' we left it behind.
But that is not the worst part of it. The worst part is that we don't
know how to get it back again. Or perhaps we don't really WANT
to get it back again. The cost simply doesn't bear thinking about,
does it? And so, as we drive around in our nice shiny cars with
our groovy plastic toys, and attend "church" as we know it twice a
week for 2 hours;- As we live a life that is about as unlike Jesus
as you can get, a life of comfort and coddling undreamt of by
billions around the world;- a lifestyle in the top 10% of the earth
today (-in debt up to our eyeballs all the while) - the fact is that
we don't really CARE that we have lost original Christianity, do
we? We are too busy, man. Don't bother us with that kind of talk.

It will all be OK, the preacher tells us. We will all make it to
heaven in the end. We are all "decent" people here. We have
"prayed the little prayer". We have 'given our heart to the Lord'.

Oh yes. We will all make it, won't we? We are all good suburban
church-going folks here.

But what is this? What is that thundering voice I hear? "DEPART
FROM ME." 'But LORD... But LORD....'

"I said - 'DEPART FROM ME'. Don't call me Lord. You never truly
lived like I was your Lord and you know it. For I was hungry and
you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I
was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did
not clothe me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me...."

What is the essence of true Christianity that we have lost, my
friends? It is simply described by James as follows- "Pure
religion and undefiled is this: To visit the fatherless and widows
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."
(Ja 1:27). Amen



-by Andrew Strom.

I think that there is a lot of church bashing today and to balance it out I will post another cool article I really liked. But lets not just let the thoughts of this article slip away from our minds. Matthew 25 just blows me away and we need to start living like those things are really what's important. But now onto the next article about church.

I Love the Church

It’s time to come out of the closet. At the risk of losing all credibility amongst the Alternative worship shoe gazers and the pomo-pogo arty crowd, can I just say that I think the church is actually really WONDERFUL! I'm tired of being tired of her. I'm bored of being bored. I'm willing to admit that she is me and I am part of the mess and part of the blessing too.
The church is BEAUTIFUL. I mean, where else do you get people behaving with such outrageous generosity, such counter-cultural thoughtfulness, such unstoppable and irresponsible gentleness towards one another on a regular basis?

You can hate the music, flatten the structures, moan about the meetings, disappear into a prophetic black hole but I'll still be one of them - One of those screwed up, down-trodden, out-of-touch, utterly underwhelming bunch of misfits and maniacs known as the church.

Welcome party

A girl in our church became a follower of Jesus a while ago and her parents didn’t like it. She decided to go to University and they refused to drive her to the campus 300 miles away. So a Christian – a girl called Charlotte – drove Julia on a 600 mile round trip. And she then persuaded two car-loads of other Christians to secretly drive up in advance, so that when Julia arrived at University, nervous and uncertain, nine Christians were waiting in her room to welcome her to her new home! Normal people don’t do that.
Downs dancing

A few weeks ago in our Sunday meeting (which was, as usual, more Flashdance than Matrix) a guy with Downs Syndrome danced for us to a beautiful piece of music. As he moved his limbs awkwardly to the easy-flowing music, lost in wonder love and the glow of our praise, I wondered where else in our town that day anything remotely similar was happening.
Aghan peace

The NGO Aid agencies have abandoned Afghanistan, despite all the western promises of reconstruction. Why? Because the big money is now in Iraq. The vast majority of those left behind in Kabul are Christian mission agencies, unable to access NGO funding but with a sense of long-term calling to the Afghan people that outlasts the fads of the media frenzy. Their morals and lifestyle are far more palatable to the Afghan people than the flashy western Aid workers in search of Adventure with an Indiana Jones approach to the local culture. Meanwhile the missionaries quietly live amongst the people. They give all they can to the local people. Lets be honest about it – they really do love the local people.
Pretty in pink

I turned my entire wardrobe pink in a single wash and a guy I vaguely know at church stopped laughing long enough to give me a load of cash to buy new stuff. I was merely grateful but my friends at work were stunned. I mean the guy hardly knew me right?
Right now, the church seems to have a corporate identity crisis. She puts herself down, apologises for herself, laughs at her own peculiarities. A little too loud. If she was a 14 year old girl she’d be starving herself or cutting herself or sleeping around. But the bible says that God loves the church. He believes in her – even when she’s a slut in the gutter (check out Hosea). He is passionate about her. Revelation says she’s his bride to be. Song of Songs describes a divine romance between Christ and his people.

Of course some of the things we label as 'church' just aren't church at all! Sometimes we use the word to describe a structure. A religious club. A historical society - not the community that makes God’s heart race and his spine tingle. But wherever people gather in the name of Jesus, he promises to appear. Not out of some dull duty, some biblical handcuff. He appears because he wants to be there like lovers always do. Like lovers always will. And you can laugh at the furniture, hate her mother’s cooking and her father’s jokes but you still want to be with that girl every time she calls. And sometimes when she doesn’t.

So you can make church a place of smells and bells with free-range monks and polystyrene communion wafers or you can make it a happy clappy bless-me club with facial hair and non-alcoholic wine, you can shout in tongues or chant in Latin, you can read the King James or the Eugene Peterson versions of Scripture. But if the gathering is in the name of Jesus, I know that he’ll be there. I know that love will be there. And yes, I guess I’ll be there as well.

From Pete Greig
(Published 30 May 2003)

A new day

Hey guys and girls,

how are your lives? think about that question before you continue reading this post. What is God doing in your lives? What have you been surrendering to God lately? I think that the most important thing that we can do sometimes is just to step back and look closely at the direction that our lives are going in... look and see if this lifestyle continues the way I have been living will I be satisfied with my life in 20 years? Have I been following God's will as close as I can? Do I even know what God's will is?

I heard something neat about the will of God and it has stuck with me ever since. The best way to find God's will for your life is to read God's will for your life. God's will for your life is found all over the bible. Just as he who called you is holy so be holy in all you do. (1 Peter 1:15). Or things like that. I have found in my experience nothing opens up my mind more to hear the voice of the Lord then to be spending time in his word. And I am preaching to myself right now because in the last couple of days I haven't made much time for God or his word. But this is so important!

The other neatest thing about surrendering and living in surrender to God's will is that life is so easy. Sure the storms will come, but you don't have to worry about anything because you know that God is carrying you through the storm and his will is the best.

Anyways that wasn't what I had intended to write about when I sat down to write a new blog entry after a long silence. I have been back from Greece for about 2 days now. It was a really good experience, God has given me a lot more confidence in myself and in his provision. Next year I am going down to North Carolina to FIRE school of ministry. And the way things are looking I may not be able to get a visa in time and even my education plan stuff in order. But I have met so many people who have testified of God's amazing providence and moving that if this truly is God's will for me and I do the best I can I am sure it will all work out somehow.

I want to start posting pictures of my trip on here soon but I am going up to Dallas Valley to be a counsellor for four weeks tommorow. Haha so all of these cool ideas and things I want to do probably won't get done. Today i think I will go to Hillsdale with my brother for the first time in a year and a half. Just to see everybody again and see how it's doing. It's true that I was hurt by what happened but God has healed those wounds and I have no more resentment or bitterness. I love how God can change my heart and set me free from everything that bound me. He proclaims freedom to the captives everyday, if only we would heed his invitation more often. Anyways, I better be off now. Hopefully I will start posting a bit more now. I love you all. God bless.