Read an interesting article ("5 things holding Christianity back") this morning after See you at the Pole at Inderkum High School (which was awesome by the way. Praise the Lord!!). Here is one of the 5 things... Fear - Too often, our actions in church are governed principally by a response to what we fear might happen, rather than faithfully discerning what God is calling us to do. We assume that the only way to tell if we’re being faithful is if the church buildings are full and the budgets are met. But this mandate is nowhere to be found in the Bible. To the degree that our institutions can serve our call to live out the gospel, more power to those who are stewards of them. But when the fear of losing them becomes the focus of our work together, they are the idols we’ve come to worship more than God. We also can let go of the fear that America is becoming an “anti Christian” nation. When surveyed, only about 5% of Americans actually claim atheism, and there are an increasing number of people who either identify as Christian or “other” who feel some connection to God, but who don’t see the value of using Church to explore that connection. This is not necessarily an indictment of us as individuals, but rather a wake-up call to help us recognize what’s really important. As Jesus demonstrated, the relationships matter so much more than our religion, and Jesus’ call is to go out among the people, not wait until they come to us. Sure, it’s scary, because it’s vulnerable and a little bit risky. But Jesus never promised us a risk-free faith. Rather, he offered us a life filled with meaning, provided we would embrace the perfect love he offered that promised to cast out such fear. - See more at: redletterchristians.org/five-things-holding-christianity-back/#sthash.tlX64ci2.dpuf
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:44:49 +0000
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