today my pastor raised an interesting and perplexing idea...he compared the way we view church and the way we do church as
"spiritual masturbation"
this i'm sure was offensive to some and shocking to most but as the mother of
4 boys and 2 girls it was almost dinner conversation.
i myself have used the phrase "vocal masturbation" many times while watching and listening to the never ending vocal acrobats on american idol...
so when this arrangement of words and syllables was hurled in my direction i didn't even flinch...
as a matter of fact i rather agreed with him....
sometimes we do church with pomp and circumstance worrying and fretting about where we will sit will we be seen what we will wear will the throngs of faithful see the cash donation going in the rather shallow tithe plate
will they notice my attendance my quick wit and engaging smile my rather fabulous shoes and new knock off dolche and gabana bag from my recent trip to nyc and canal street...
seriously no one in the south will be able to spot a knock off...
the point was that we often think of church as something to do that will bring immediate gratification to ourselves...we go for us and for no one else.
how many times have we said
"i just didn't get anything out of church today"
it's as if we expect the church to exist to massage our tired and exhausted view of ourselves
to lay spiritual cucumbers on our eyes that had to remain open for an astonishing 10 minutes of worship 7.5 of announcements and exactly 23 of teaching followed by the before mentioned shallow tithe plate and quick prayer exhorting the day and week that lies ahead
somewhere we have gone wrong...
it was said that we need to
"stop doing church and be the church"
church should be something we are that dwells within us
it should oozes out of our very pores... we should reek of it
church should be a place to give back to grow to reach out
a place of solace and peace for the weary and sustenance for those who hunger
a place of safety for those who are afraid
it should be a place where laughter is quick and tears are kept in crystal vases where the light can shine through in magnificent prisms
and life can be given to a parched bloom
but again we have gone somewhat wrong...
church is not a place
but a person..a human who wants to be Jesus with skin on
it is you and me choosing to put self aside and see someones needs before our own
it is choosing to place value on the individual next to us rather than on ourselves
it's understanding that there is One greater than the face we see in the mirror
church is simply you and me choosing to be more like Him
"spiritual masturbation"
this i'm sure was offensive to some and shocking to most but as the mother of
4 boys and 2 girls it was almost dinner conversation.
i myself have used the phrase "vocal masturbation" many times while watching and listening to the never ending vocal acrobats on american idol...
so when this arrangement of words and syllables was hurled in my direction i didn't even flinch...
as a matter of fact i rather agreed with him....
sometimes we do church with pomp and circumstance worrying and fretting about where we will sit will we be seen what we will wear will the throngs of faithful see the cash donation going in the rather shallow tithe plate
will they notice my attendance my quick wit and engaging smile my rather fabulous shoes and new knock off dolche and gabana bag from my recent trip to nyc and canal street...
seriously no one in the south will be able to spot a knock off...
the point was that we often think of church as something to do that will bring immediate gratification to ourselves...we go for us and for no one else.
how many times have we said
"i just didn't get anything out of church today"
it's as if we expect the church to exist to massage our tired and exhausted view of ourselves
to lay spiritual cucumbers on our eyes that had to remain open for an astonishing 10 minutes of worship 7.5 of announcements and exactly 23 of teaching followed by the before mentioned shallow tithe plate and quick prayer exhorting the day and week that lies ahead
somewhere we have gone wrong...
it was said that we need to
"stop doing church and be the church"
church should be something we are that dwells within us
it should oozes out of our very pores... we should reek of it
church should be a place to give back to grow to reach out
a place of solace and peace for the weary and sustenance for those who hunger
a place of safety for those who are afraid
it should be a place where laughter is quick and tears are kept in crystal vases where the light can shine through in magnificent prisms
and life can be given to a parched bloom
but again we have gone somewhat wrong...
church is not a place
but a person..a human who wants to be Jesus with skin on
it is you and me choosing to put self aside and see someones needs before our own
it is choosing to place value on the individual next to us rather than on ourselves
it's understanding that there is One greater than the face we see in the mirror
church is simply you and me choosing to be more like Him
1 comments:
Awesome post, Diana, and so true! Wonder what would happen if churches followed the example of the Acts church? We'd be called "Jesus Freaks" or something of the like. But, would that be so bad in trade for hearing "Well done, good and faithful servants" in the end? Just askin'...
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