What if…?
While I was out and about on Sunday with my wife and son, I realized how crowded the mall parking lot was. Wow, (you say to yourself) “He was out at the mall and not to church?” Yes, I was. It was great to just get out for a bit, get some fresh air and enjoy being with them. Back to the crowded mall story; my son and I noticed how crowded the place was and we both were thinking, maybe they got out of church early? I then though, well I’d better hurry up, get what I came for and leave before the churches let out and I’m stuck in traffic.I was thinking, what if the saints did go to the mall? What if the people of God intentionally did something different. Get out of the building (the church building) and interact with the rest of the world, be seen with people other than Christians for the sake sharing the gospel through living it. When we are in church attire, we seem to be on our best behavior, especially when we are out and about wearing our suits, usher uniforms or clergy collar. During the week its a different story.Wouldn’t the rest of the community have the opportunity to see and interact with the people of God if we fellowshipped outside the four walls of the church? Your presence elsewhere might inspire someone to attend your services when they see you outside your element (the church building). Wouldn’t the rest of the general public get the chance to see us as a people that are approachable and without wearing the “I’m better than you” face? I’m sure they probable would. The one sure thing about fellowship with other believers is, we are encouraged by one another and held accountable to a standard, but when we leave the grounds of the church we seem to be different people. We drive our cars like we are truly in a rush and no one should dare get in our way. We can be just as rude in the crowded department store as others or we drive recklessly slow in the fast lane…on our cell phones. Wow, the irony of being cut off by a driver and you see them in the church lobby after the benediction.
We spend so much time within the four walls of the church building, how can most of us really enjoy the presence and company of each other when we are busy saying “AMEN” or dancing in the spirit? Or, being prayed over. Once its all done we rush out to eat and come right back for the evening service. I’m not anti church nor am I anti Christian, I’m anti doing the same thing and expecting different results. What if we disagreed less about non essentials in church meetings? What if we conducted less prayer meetings and got busy doing what needs to be done as the opportunity presents itself. You don’t need a prayer meeting to deal with problems in the community, you need action.
What if we stop blaming our misfortune or unfortunate circumstances on the devil and realize that somethings are caused by our own neglect. For example, blaming the devil for your flat tire when your tire has no tread, blaming the devil for your phone getting turned off when you needed it to call roadside help for the flat tire (when your 30 days behind on the bill). What if we took better care of ourselves, would we need to stand in the prayer line for prayer to be healed from ailments caused by a lack of exercise and proper diet?
In closing, I’d like to share some statistical information from the website Religious Tolerance, it states the following:
Prior to 1990, the popularity of Christianity had been stable in the U.S. About 87% of adults identified themselves as Christians. The country then experienced a major change. Significant numbers of American adults began to disaffiliate themselves from Christianity and from other organized religions. By 2008, the percentage of Christians had reached 76% and is believed to be continuing its decline.
What if…?
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Observations and Questions, Thought Provoking!, Uncategorized, Writing out loud | etan siwel
Ask questions in church, Going Against The Grain, What if I ask...
