Well, it's been a while - mostly because I've been busy moving into my new house and to KC and all. But also, when I think about blogging I just want to update older blogs I've written.
Either way, I finally was frustrated enough today to sit down and make myself heard! It's about all these churches out there, and how they get so pushy about bringing people to them.
See, churches are a little like businesses I suppose. They can either grow by expanding their market (converting people to Christianity) or by increasing their market share (getting current Christians to jump ship and come to their church). Now, getting converts is amazing! It's what we're supposed to be doing anyway! Going out into the world and spreading the Gospel!
Church jumping...well, that's a little grayer. A Catholic friend of mine's been pushing Catholicism on me. He gave me a book about people who converted to Catholicism - mostly from Presbyterian faiths - and each person says the exact same thing, "Protestants think they can just jump around from church to church depending on whether they feel comfortable or not."
Now, don't get me wrong - those are challenging words. But it's also a little ironic that they come from people who have just jumped churches! I suppose for me, the difference between Catholics and Protestants are that...well, Protestants aren't Catholics. I kind of lump all churches into this "Christianity" category. I know it's crazy of me to think that we all share something because we believe in Jesus Christ. And then you can break churches down by denominations (Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist), but as far as I'm concerned, jumping from Presbyterian to Catholic is still jumping.
And challenging as the words are, I think there are very good reasons to "jump faiths." God may be calling you. You may have reached a point in your spiritual journey where you just cannot accept how people in your denomination are interpreting the Bible. You may have moved. And, really, I think whether converting compeltely to Christianity or "finding" your home church, this kind of passionate, prayerful decision-making leads to a spiritual revival within the soul. One might almost say that jumping churches is a good thing - it causes us to grow. Stand up to ourselves and our beliefs. And stand up to God.
Either way, that's not my issue today. My issue still lies with these churches wanting to expand. I really do want to figure out what's going on here. Sometimes I think that churches are just after a body count - they want as many people attending as possible. And body counts help - a big church can offer more avenues to worship: contemporary and traditional worship services, Bible studies for teens, parents, and seniors. They probably have a bigger budget - to buy worship equipment, sponsor retreats, and send kids to summer camps.
But all of that seems meaningless when compared to the purpose of the church. Now, I'm actually not sure what that purpose is. It's another thing I've been searching for. But I think filling up thirsty people is one of them.
When I moved in, my dad "sold" me to one of our churches in Olathe. He got a guy to help move, and as "thank you" I was expected to attend the church. The problem was, I already had a church in Kansas City. Going to the new church would only be a waste of time, really - I wasn't going to come back. The problem was, the guy, while not insistent, was overeager to drop off the information. I found myself a little taken aback - did neither of them hear what I was saying? I had a church? I'm Christian. Why do they think I need to be their kind of Christian?
There's nothing wrong with their church. I did end up going today. As I was leaving, two people tried to stop me and make me feel "welcome," and I suppose for this I give them kudos - when someone comes to your church, you have no idea why they're there, or what they need.
But what gets to me is that I have seen this pattern over and over again. "Oh, have you found a church yet?" "Yes, yes I have. " "Ah, really? Well you should try such and such church...we're having a potluck on Sunday." (by the way, I was super excited to see the phrase "such and such" and "so and so" in the Bible! II Samuel!)
You may as well not respond. When I think about it, I think we, as Christians, are stuck. There are so many people searching for Christ in the world, but we don't know how to get to them because we don't understand what they're going through. I know I sure don't. We've grown up in a church environment, so the easiest thing to do is to talk people into going to your church.
And some people are very well meaning - if they really think that Presbyterians won't be saved but Baptists will or something...I can see them being desperate to save the souls of all those not going to their church. However, I remember how Jesus is the Way to the Father. No one comes to the Father except through Him. It didn't mention a denomination now that I think about it...
I just wish we could all get along! We fill such nice niches. We reach people in different, unique ways. I think God has taken what may have been unfortunate, the splitting up of the church, and turned it into something He can use - lines of ministry that can reach anybody anywhere - with thousands of spiritual gifts to offer. I just wish we could stop turning on ourselves!
Next time you ask someone if they have a church, and they say "Yes," stop and ask them about it! I'm sure they'd love to talk about what they're learning and doing. And who knows, maybe there will be something missing in their spiritual life. Something your church can fill.
Then again, maybe their church can fill you up.
