Thoughts on "church"

Last night was our last night of Youth Alpha with my Core teens. The subject was "What is the church?" It was interesting to hear what they had to say. I come from a church in NY that has grown (since '91) from about 100 people,through several building projects, multiple pastors, being on staff twice, and is now a couple thousand people. So when I think of church there is a WHOLE LOT I can think of- good, bad, pretty and ugly. It just happens when you gather the broken people of God, its beautiful and complicated. Its interesting to compare experiences with my teens, who have been at a church plant for the last 7 years. They have seen it grow from house meeting to rented school halls. So when they think of church they think of the people they church with. I thought that was really awesome. I am so glad to be a part of that.
- - -
I have been in this process of discovery over these last few years about me, the church and God. I have realized that sometimes I think I cheat on God with the church. Sometimes I wonder if I love the THINGS of God, the people of God, the programs more than I love him for being GOD. I spend countless hours reading, researching, dialoguing about the church- strategizing and planning programs... I wonder if I logged my hours with that stuff how it would compare to hanging out with God- enjoying his beauty, presence, praying, reading the Word- just being. Hmmm, something I have been pondering.

I read this interesting article today on Relavant.com website, here is a snipet, but the whole thing can be read here: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/23507-is-the-church-lost

Where the church has gone wrong and how we can get back on track.

Western culture is all about the self and how to gain bigger and better things. It’s no surprise then, that this mentality has affected the way most of us think about church. It’s easy to get stuck in a mindset that continuously assesses the quality of a church based on what they have to offer us. There is even more of a tendency to evaluate churches based on the specific desires of one’s self when searching for a new church...
...In Crazy Love, Francis Chan writes, “God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love.”

This love is uncomfortable and it means sometimes listening to music that’s not your style or understanding a sermon that didn’t do much for you might have helped someone else that Sunday. It means that sometimes church isn’t big and cutting edge, but small and simple. More so, it means not coming to a church focused on consuming but instead coming to give and serve.

Christians must understand that God does not define “good” churches by the quality of their programs, the size of membership or the look and feel of a facility. Focusing on those things can cause us to completely miss the point of what God actually wants of His Church. God has called us to draw near to Him, share the freedom and life of Jesus, and to love and serve others. Everything else must come second to these goals....

To read the full story click here