...brief trail off

Summer of 2012 I became more concerned with the people who attend church rather than the people who do not. Why you ask? There seems to be too many screw-tape letters that “religious” people have come to believe. Attending church regularly does not save you, nor make you righteous. Church was initiated back in the day for community, to support one another.  Is that the case in today’s churches? I would say no. In fact, every church is against each other and it has come to sitting in the same spot at the same time, every Sunday. You may be thinking about what happened this past week or even planning for the following week, month, or year. You browse the crowd, seeing familiar faces and then notice that someone has not been showing up recently or missed a couple bible studies. Insert gossip and assumptions.

I started my faith walk first year in college in good ol’ Iowa. I joined a campus ministry, served in inner cities and volunteered at various events. I have always been offended when people used the word “religious” to describe my spiritual situation, never understood why until these past few months. In my heart, I have always asked God to give me a heart of a Gentile. Yes, you read that right. I want a pariah heart, to be an outcast of religious people, and avoiding the categorization of having a religion. Why can I not just be a servant of Jesus with no denomination?

As my continuation of faith deepens, my heart has been exposed to a sad realization: church has become a “need” rather than a “want.” There is a HUGE difference. When people need to do something, it allows them to be passionless, un-tuned, and safe. I am sure going to church every Sunday gives other people the assumption that God and you are perfect. Where is your passion? Your Desire? I do not know about you, but cookie cutter prayers like, “God, thanks for today” or “Lord, bless everyone here,” saddens me. There is no passion but rather a routine and this is where our stagnant walk with Jesus becomes problematic.

God does not call us to put our desires on the table for sacrifice. We have desires for a reason and we need to persistently pursue them. If you have never read the story of the Persistent Widow, please do (no, this is not a ploy to passively push you towards God). It is a perfect parable about never giving up. Too many people in church today have fallen into a mundane, routine to righteousness life.  This is what you call bleak; a perfect scenario where evil can easily access you. Following God should be adventurous, life giving, stimulating, passionate, and moving. I would challenge you to take time to see what you really desire. This is not you being selfish. This is you looking internally to see what seeds God has planted in you.

It has always befuddled me how Jesus would be standing right in front of the Pharisees, the “religious” people who knew the scriptures inside and out, and yet they missed their Messiah standing there. They knew the 613 Written Laws of the Torah and it hardened their hearts!  This reminds me of various scriptures saying to avoid drunkenness, sexual immorality, impurity, homosexuality, and gluttony. If you see a Christian friend having a drink, your thought may be, “well they need to repent.” You see two gay people pray over dinner, and in the back of your mind, “no way that is possible.” If you see someone promiscuously dressed, your automatic response is, “that person is lost and needs Jesus.” Those are all thoughts with no action of love or genuine compassion. Too many people have a checklist on what a Christian is and this has marginalized us from each other. My list is simple: love God, love people. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, supposedly. Yet, all we do as “church people” is compare and condemn. This is a screw-tape letter, my friends. God does not seek the checklist, but He seeks our heart.

For the rest of the year, these next three months, I will not be reading my Bible daily, just during church and my daily scripture email from Air 1. No, I am not turning away from God and His word. Not sure what your notions on that may be, but I can tell you this: there is a deep longing in my heart to know Him after spending so much time in nature this summer, that I feel like I have missed the point on what being a follower of Christ really means. I am asking God to hold his promise to show me His love; to physically show me. I have read the stories, now I am seeking real life relevance. In other words, I am calling God out. I do not want to be a cookie cutter Christian who says the right things, dresses appropriately, leads Bible studies, and prays the correct prayers. That may seem unexpected, but are those not some of the requirements on the list of being an ideal religious person?

I have a mixed category of friends: Christians (Meths, Bapts, non-denoms, etc.), atheists, drunks, Mormons, gays, druggies, religious people, and sadly, those who have been deeply hurt by churches. The biggest dream I have is probably the most aggravating: where everyone serves together, for one another with one another. However, because we are in a broken world and there is always some church that has more truth than another church, and blah blah blah, we will always remain undeveloped in our walk of faith. We will always hurt each other, secretly comparing our doctrines or ideologies, instead of living the dream God has for us.  So, pray what is actually on your heart. If you are hurt, tell God. If you are angry, do not be afraid to let Him know exactly how you feel. Let him know how pissed off you are.  Feeling joyful? Then praise Him! If there is one thing that I have learned, God can take anything you throw at Him. What He cannot take is you suppressing yourself, giving up your innate desire He gave you, seeing you throw a beautiful life into the “religious box.” He called us live.

I offer two quotes to end this epistle:  1- Don’t define your world in black and white because there is so much hiding amongst the greys; 2- Look for strengths in people, not weakness, for good, not evil. Most of us find what we search for.

Much love,
Whit