Notes from the Edge of the Continent: My Love/Hate Relationship with the Church

We're wrapping up our annual week at Hilton Head Island. We have to leave tomorrow morning and, as usual, WE DON'T WANT TO!! It's been another relaxing week here and it's hard to get motivated to get back to the real world. Our vacations have become rather routine, I guess. Mornings on the beach with a good book and plenty of suntan lotion. Inside for a late lunch, then the pool. Back to the beach later in the afternoon. Supper. Maybe an evening walk on the beach. (We woke up at 5:45 this morning and watched a beautiful red sunrise.)

We usually go out to eat a couple of times a week. This week we returned for the 3rd year in a row to The Wreck of the Salty Dog and Kenny B's French Quarter Cafe. We highly recommend both.

Something about relaxing on the Atlantic causes me to reflect and think a lot. Beth says this is my week for introspection. It's true. When I come here I think a lot about my beliefs, my calling, my life, my busyness, and my priorities. This year was no different with the exception that I didn't "introspect" as often or as deeply as I usually do.

I intentionally packed books unrelated to ministry this week. Many times I'll use this week to catch up on reading ministry-related books. Not this time. With the exception of my daily morning Bible reading, this week I read a novel and I caught up on the last three issues of Writer's Digest magazines. Oops, I lied. I did bring one ministry related magazine to finish some articles that I started a while ago and never got back to finish.

Even so, my mind has been on my passion quite a bit because Beth and Kyle, my daughter's boyfriend, have been reading Radical this week. They've been talking about it some. (See my review here.) My passion is the Church and Radical definitely makes you think about it. I have a love/hate relationship with the Church. (Note: Church with a capital "C" means the Church as a whole, the universal Church, the Body of Christ.) Church with a little "c" would be a local church, e.g., TrueNorth Church. Why do I say I have a love/hate relationship with the Church? Because I love it so much and I know that the Church is the hope of the world, yet I hate how we mistreat it, discount it, and just plain don't get it sometimes.

Too many Christians think "Church" consists of a 60-70 minute program that includes 30 minutes of music, 30 minutes of preaching, 5 minutes of announcements and 5 minutes for the offering. They think that attending this one hour service makes God happy and gives them brownie points with the Almighty, a.k.a., "the Good Lord." When I read Acts 2:41-47 (many scholars would agree that this passage describes the model church), I don't see much in there about a one hour service filled with music and preaching.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

What do you see in this passage? I see a lifestyle, not attendance of a weekly production. I see the word "devoted." I see authentic discipleship, fellowship, and prayer. I see miracles. MIRACLES! When is the last time you truly witnessed a miracle, if ever? I see selflessness - a community sharing things with those in need, not individuals acquiring things for their own pleasure. I see generosity. I see multiplication of disciples. I see genuine love and passion for the things of God.

Do you see these things in your life? in your church?

This love/hate relationship began for me in the mid-1980's after a nasty church business meeting. Up until that Wednesday night, I had seen nothing but the greatness of a tremendous church on fire and on mission for God. Then sin crept in - specifically, gossip, which lead to an all-out attack against God's anointed ones. To be honest, I don't think that church has been the same since that night.

I saw the Church at its worst that night. I couldn't sleep. Beth and I couldn't go to work the next day. Instead, we prayed all morning in the church sanctuary. We prayed at every pew, every seat in the choir loft, and the big thrones on the stage where the ministers sat. We prayed for healing, reconciliation, and forgiveness. We prayed intensely for hours.

It wasn't long after that night that my passion for the Church was born. I was determined to do my part in seeing the Church operate like it is described in the New Testament. It's been about 25 years and my passion for it is still great. Sometimes I'm so passionate about it, it becomes a burden. It is a passion/burden that I will die with, I guess. Beth says it will never leave me.

So what have I been doing at the beach this week? Besides getting sunburned, I've been meditating, contemplating, scheming, and praying about how to make TrueNorth Church and the Church as a whole more like the Acts 2 church. I would love it if you would join me in my passion. The Church is truly the HOPE OF THE WORLD. We must make it what God intended it to be. There is no Plan B.