So I am currently having this discussion about church. This is a subject that gets me a little fired up sometimes. I won't try to recapture my feelings by summing up what I said...I will just let you read what I wrote:
"No worries. I try not to get caught up in all of the legalism of church. God didn't create "the body of Christ" to quarrel and argue and take advantage of each other. He created this body for community...for encouragement...for servanthood. Shame on the people who take advantage of that, but I have no right to judge them. God will take care of it. All we can be with our short time here on earth is good stewards of everything He provides for us and to be "Jesus with skin on". To be examples of what a life in Christ should really look like. To love our enemies...show compassion to the poor and weak in spirit...to worship and adore the Living God with everything in our being and to know at the end of the day that we did everything we could to be a light for others to see. And maybe, just maybe those who take advantage of the church or think they have all the answers or are arrogant about their position as a Christian will finally get the hint and realize that God never intended them to live that way at all. If we shine brighter than the evil of this world and the darkness that overtakes religion and denominational legalism, then there is a glimmer of hope for revival in our churches to become the church God intended and not the church man controls."
When someone asks me what denomination I am, I say "I am a Christian". Why does it matter what church I go to as long as I worship the One who created it in the first place? I love going to church, don't get me wrong, but I want to know I am going for the right reasons and not the wrong ones. I don't go to church to show off my newest dress or so that someone can say they saw me in church on Sunday and I will be validated for another week. I want to go to church to worship my God. To meet with Him in His house under His rules. And I need the encouragement of the body of Christ to carry what I learn and experience out into this world and live what I believe.
I need church for community...for accountability...for authenticity. I need to be a part of a church community because I know I cannot tow the line all by myself. Not because I have a prestigious position or because I need everyone to see how much offering I put in the plate as it passes by me.
I give my 10% because it's God's money. To give Him less is ripping off the One who provided it for me in the first place. I give out of abundance and when it hurts because I know that God is in all the details of my life. He provides. He provides community. He provides comfort. He provides help in time of need. He provides me every breath I take and every good and perfect thing in this life.
I need church to hear His word alive and on fire in the hearts and minds of the preachers in the pulpit. A called servant of the Lord teaching His children to love one another, help one another, hold each other accountable and not to judge, not to hold a grudge and not to cast stones. I need to learn and grow and hear the Scriptures come alive. I need to hear what God is saying and sometimes something in Scripture is made clear as I listen to the one standing at that pulpit.
But mostly I need church, I need community because I have seen what God can do when believers gather in His name. I have seen His power first hand, felt His love generate throughout my very being and witnessed grace and forgiveness in action. I have seen the power of God. I have and still very much feel the love of God and I want it. I want that John 10:10 life..abundantly. I may be the worst dressed person in church on Sunday, but God does not care what I wear to church. He cares about where my heart is and where He can meet me on this narrow way.
I may not be the richest person with the deepest pocket, but God knows that what I give I give to Him with a thankful spirit knowing that without Him I wouldn't have it in the first place.
I worship not because I look more holy to others. I worship because God created me to. He made me to worship Him and I have no greater joy in life than to lift my hands and my voice in thanks and praise to my Creator.
I don't go to church because it looks good for my personal P.R. God puts the desire in my heart to seek Him out everyday and to worship with His children on Sunday morning or Saturday night or Wednesday night as often as I want.
It's not about denominations. It's not about money. It's not about clothes or cars or appearances. It's about community. It's about worship. It's about growing and learning. It's about giving back to the One who first gave to you. It's about God. End of story.
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