Jesus didn't come to give us religion. He came to give us life....John 10:10. Religion has become obese. It waddles into one event after another drawing the disdain of skeptics. Fortunately, religion is losing weight. It's shedding unneeded pounds which had been taken on by decades and centuries of man-made doctrines. Churches of all brands seem to be entering this spiritual weight-loss program.
What's the cause of such a turn to better health? There seems to be both a united admission and renewal. The admission is that each denomination has sadly assumed itself more faithful to the Word than its competitors. The renewal is Jesus is gaining popularity in the church.
Isn't the latter a stark realization? It's true of us? The church I am in is increasingly losing weight by being less the competitive Church of Christ and becoming more aware of the biblical world-view church of Christ. For years we have denied ourselves being a denomination and the louder we voiced it, the more we became it.
The good news is the Spirit of Christ is entering through the closed doors of many churches of many brands and quietly leading individuals/congregations to simultaneous renewal. God is increasingly glorified; not our works. God is wonderfully praised; not our form. God is loved; not our rules. Churches are shedding awkward and ill-fitting armor handed down while growing in the true Spirit of Jesus which has always been promoted by a few.
I am just beginning to begin to see the true church arise in this multi-distractional life called ministry. Being the church instead of The Church is much more faithful, freeing, inclusive, exciting, and productive. Congratulations to all churches who are more interested in the name of Jesus than in the name of your denomination.
3 comments:
That was true of Long Beach ... far more interested in serving Jesus than serving any historical tradition. Geez, did I get out of ministry just before things turned around for the better??
Isaiah 55:7-9 (New International Version)
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Terry, and friends - Terry is right on with this most recent post. I thought there might be the most posts to this writing than ever before. Terry, you may not want to hear this b/c you are very humble, I know, but your thoughts and ways aren't far off from His. I shared your thoughts with men from our church last night who are on the endeavor of building a Men's Ministry at our church. Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us all. God Bless, Jim
I always enjoy reading your blog.
Thanks for sharing.
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