Most of you have already enthusiastically jumped out of bed, cleaned up by showering and shaving (men I hope here); you've checked your closet and put on your Sunday clothes with your nice clean shoes and gone off to the church of your choice. Maybe your church isn't as extravagant or as large as this cathedral that I had the pleasure of visiting in Savannah Georgia pictured here, but I'm sure your church is nice and has all the comforts associated with churches of today, well in America at least.
No doubt at your church today you had a great service with inspirational singing, spiritual preaching, loving fellowship, and some of you have even taken a leadership role. Maybe you sing on the Praise Team, play an instrument, or you blessed the congregation with a solo that may have brought a standing ovation? The minister may have brought a message like never before; it was so very inspiring! Who knows, you may possibly be that minister? Maybe you attend an old fashioned spirit filled "shouting" or "bench jumping" church; or yours could have a much more quiet reverent atmosphere. On the other hand many churches today have gone more toward contemporary services to help encourage the newer generations to come and join; maybe this describes your church?. Either way, what a wonderful feeling to have been there and been a part of such a great and heartwarming service.
Afterwards, as you rode in your car toward your home maybe you talked with your spouse or family about the wonderful church experience. You loved the singing and the preaching was okay too; at least it wasn't boring like other Sundays. It was a good morning. By now you are probably home, or maybe you're seated at your favorite restaurant preparing to enjoy a nice Sunday chicken dinner... today life is good. But before you take that first bite of chicken, stop for a minute! I want you to experience something I have thought about many times and I believe it is worth your time to at least consider. In reality I'm just a pile of dirt no better than anyone, but I do find myself questioning and considering things that many others may not care to do.
Try this short experiment with me. It will only take a few minutes I promise.
In your mind I want you to humor me and put your life in reverse (today specifically).. Simply go back to the very moment you parked your car at your church door. Remember? You parked, got out of your car and headed towards the building with a smile on your face as you began to greet those you came in contact with. To most of those around you seemed to not have a care in the world and they seemed the same right back at you. We call that our Sunday morning mask and it is a normal part of our Sunday experience. But this morning you notice something is strange, something is different as you enter the sanctuary.
What would your christian life be like if the things you are so accustomed to began to disappear? What if its all taken away? What would you do?
The first thing you notice as you enter the building is that the beautiful church interior has been stripped away! The carpet is gone; the padded pews are replaced with hard benches; its a bit hot because the air conditioning is not on and as you look around you quickly notice the entire heating and air system is no longer there! Its gone! You look again and notice the stained glass windows are replaced with plain clear glass; flowers are all gone; statues are missing; pictures of Jesus are missing as well; and to beat it all the three large viewing screens are showing scrambled fuzzy images where the elegant inspirational videos are usually played!
What in the world is going on you ask?
People in the sanctuary cannot answer that question either because they are all in shock as well! To the older folks its almost like being in the old TV show, the Twilight Zone where nothing seems real!
Then you look up and see the church Choir inter the room along with the Choir Director/ Minister of Music followed closely by the Praise Team. Then in spite of the missing items in the building the Pianist and Organist along with all of the church musicians begin to play, but it last for only a minute because suddenly the musicians each notice that their instruments are vanishing into thin air! In the midst of the song you see the Praise Team, some with hands already lifted high in the air, suddenly drop their hands in disbelief that the music has stopped! They soon realize that there are no instruments to accompany them so they feel they can no longer sing; in fact a few seconds later all of their voices are completely gone as well! They look back at the Choir and the beautiful robes have just as quickly vanished and the choir members stop without another note. What a terrifying moment! People throughout the sanctuary try not to panic but can barely stay in the building!
They all begin to question themselves and others...
What is happening? Is this the end that we have been preaching and singing about all of our lives? If so why would it happen this way and is God trying to tell us that he is not interested in our songs of praise? Instinctively all eyes turn to the pastor sitting on the stage for answers; surely he will have words of comfort and wisdom that will calm our fears and inspire us?
Nervously the pastor stands and walks to the pulpit. He too has a look of disbelief as to what has just started happening in his church. He's been to Theological Seminary; he's earned his Doctorate; surely he knows why this is happening. The church doesn't know it, but the truth is, he doesn't have any idea what to say because he doesn't know what is going on himself. Everything that the church has relied on to carry out the quote "normal" worship services in the past decades has been suddenly and completely stripped away! Slowly the pastor opens his mouth to try to speak, but he finds that he is simply dumbfounded and can think of nothing to say. He turns and moves toward the kingly style chair from whence he came that had been purchased for him a year ago by the deacons. He shakes his head as he sits down placing his head between his knees and he begins to cry feeling like a failure.
You look around and you notice that the smiling faces are all gone.
It seems that each and every person has a look of pain and it almost seems that you can sense the problems and hurts in their lives by simply looking at them. The secret drunk begins to look like a drunk; the cheater and the immoral have faces covered in shame; the greedy and the power hungry show their arrogance in plain sight while trying not to show their faces; the thieves and criminally minded have a look of extreme guilt! In the meantime you too are trying to cover your weaknesses that are showing to others on your own face. You are still sitting with your family in utter dismay on the unusually hard bench. Then you turn and you look at your wife and say "This is it...Our church is gone! There's nothing left!"
You stand to leave with nothing to say to anyone. Suddenly the church is shaken but its not an earthquake! It is being shaken by a loud voice from Heaven!
You along with everyone else there soon hear the voice say..."WHERE IS YOUR CHURCH NOW?"
The voice continues..."Pastor, can you not lead this flock without the trappings and glitter associated with your normal church services? And Mr. Choir Director can you not find a way to lead my flock in songs from the heart without the musical professionalism beside and behind you? What about you Praise Team...can you only lift your hands to me when you hear yourself singing while accompanied by beautiful music in front of an audience? What if you couldn't sing at all, would you still lift your hands in praise? Choir, do you have to be clothed in a magnificent robe to sing? Do you really sing to me, or is this just part of the religious show that I find in my house across this land? And to you musicians I say, you give your time and talents as well, but if these talents and instruments are gone what would you do for me then?
There is a deafening silence in the room as no one dares to speak out of fear!
Then the voice speaks again..."What about you...yes you in the congregation? Are you my flock only when you are in comfort? Is it all about coming to enjoy the show prepared for you?" "Pastor, Deacons, Elders, and Teachers are you leading people in the ways of righteousness and making disciples not just converts to enlarge your congregation?" You bow your head in shame while no one can or even dares to answer the voice.
The voice continues..."This is My Church, bought and paid for by My Blood but you have been deceived into thinking it is all about you; you rely on your preaching styles, your ways of leading, your singing, your talents, your presentation, and even your comfort. Now you can see that I have stripped it all away for you to see clearly that your heart is far from me. Your worship services are in vain; you need only one thing and that is to completely Focus On Me and My Word so that I can teach you; so that you can bring the lost, the hurting, the ugliness of this world To Me for the answer. No, your church is not gone...I AM THE CHURCH! Your job is not to focus on inspirational preaching and singing as good as that may seem to you. Your charisma. talent, and money mean nothing to me. The works you do on your own mean nothing as well because Without Me You Can Do Nothing! Have you forgotten The Great Commission? You are to make disciples in my name so they can grow in me and then teach others to do so as well. Today I've taken your entertainment away. I've taken your comfort away. I have taken your mask away! Now, all you have left is all you really ever needed to change this world.I know and love my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and a stranger they will not follow...so, who will you follow? By the way in case you're wondering...Jesus is my name."
Then in the blink of an eye and as if nothing ever happened everything in the building returned to normal. You sit there amazed and in shock and you find yourself having to choose between what you have always done and what the voice just told you.You want to follow, but your comfort has always been in the way you have always done it. Its so hard to leave that behind; after all its doing good...isn't it?
What would you do?
What if this happened in your church? What would you do, stay the same? Close the doors to the church? Or get back to the basics of the church as true followers of Jesus? It is a question every true Christian needs to answer. Most of us answer it every Sunday without realizing it.We often see things through our own veiled vision of experiences and tradition while in reality we would be better off if the religious trappings and traditions were taken away from us. Think about it.
That's all I had on my mind today and it may seem strange that I would even think, much less write such a thing as this, but this is something I have pondered in my heart for a long while.,,,,What part of our church experience is truly God centered? Are we simply being entertained and made to feel good by going to our churches? Each person has to answer that for themselves.
Now you can finish your meal.
By the way, what if your Sunday dinners and religious social interactions were taken away too? Would you still worship and follow Jesus? Hey, I do these things myself so I am in no way your judge, but I do believe it is something we all need to think about and decide on. Otherwise we are just playing the game of church.
Pictured above, My Dad was pastor at a small country Baptist Church like this one many years ago
in Sequatchie Tennessee
Not all churches are extravagant, however we all still have our conveniences and traditions
