Is Church Irrelevant

We are living in an "Entertain Me" world that has lost its way when it comes to what is important. Recently I was involved in a discussion as to whether the Christian Church had become irrelevant. I was really surprised at the number of people who quickly agreed that church did not always meet the needs of the general population. What struck me was the world view that has pervaded even this Sunday School class saying that the church must somehow always be non-invasive, all accepting and politically correct. While I agree we are called to love everyone, where they are, I must disagree that this should in some way override the tenants of Gods will for our lives.

As a Christian I cannot fully comprehend the price that was paid on my behalf on the cross. The God who created the entire universe and all time beginning to end from out of a void, chose to become a man so that I would know that he knew about life here on earth first hand. He withstood the horror of the crucifiction when he could have waved it away and ruled as king on earth in an instant. That God, Christ among us, deserves my devotion. I trust him to know more than me. I acknowledge that his plan is probably better than mine. (Probably here is used sarcastically) I must come to a place where the things and plans and worship of the world are of no consequense to me. Obedience to his will, written down for me in the Bible, is the sweet spot of life. If I try to make sense of it today it may not appear correct. When I look backwards over the glaring disparity between those times I was deferential and those times I was prideful... let's just say I am sad for what waywardness has done in my life.

Don't get me wrong, I love to be entertained. I even truly believe a church needs to be entertaining to draw people in. I just want to make sure that the church has a compelling program of growth; from entertaining to engaging to compelling to devotion to worship to service moving finally into grace. After all, Gods grace offers the peace we are seeking when we salve our conscience with entertainment anyway. Move away from the societal worship of insubordination and into a place of understanding that compliance with God's plan, sharing Grace with others, is what we really need anyway.

Listen

Recently I have been working through an ongoing instruction on Obedience. It seems that almost every day something will give me pause as I am shown how far our world seems to have traveled from the blessing of compliance with the will of God. I pride myself in the ability to ascertain the still small influence of the Holy Spirit that is sometimes unnoticed in the busy day to day… Notice I said pride. Pride is perhaps the loudest voice that tries to drown out God, even when we are prideful in our piety (especially then). I find myself viewing these lessons through the paradigm of my life. I have found it sad that others are so vain as to think themselves important enough to be able to live life without the need for Holy guidelines. He smiles patiently as I think this and moves knowingly onto my next lesson. At some point I have finally begun to comprehend that each of these messages has been meant for me. I am humbly appreciative of the persistence of a resolute teacher. This should have been fairly obvious but I am imperceptive while I am feeling superior. I am glad I serve a God who will continue to turn up the volume until my self-centered deaf ears cannot help but hear.