CHURCHES: HAVE WE LOST OUR WAY TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD?

Have we lost our way? Has life in the church become a competitive marketing scheme to see who can grow the best one? Which can do the most Bible things? Who can capture the bragging rights of the spirituals?

Have we lost our way? Have we become a community annoyance to the desperate and needy hungering for authentic help; yet has long assumed there is none? Is it possible we have burnt our bridges long ago with the neighborhood; although they don't care if we set up shop and mind our own business?

Have we lost our way? Is it true our own have grown weary of our "do goodiness" while so wishing the moment of "good enough" would somehow miraculously arrive?

Such questions can seem terribly acidic. Not intended. They are meant to awaken us to the possibility we have forgotten our purpose. We are the light. We aren't the doctrinally right light. We aren't the few and only light. Neither are we the three hours per week light. We are the light...the light of God. But for heaven's sake....what for?

We are the light because the world grows dark. The church is to shine. We've lost our way. We are failing to take the light to the world; instead we hunker down in spiritual foxholes called church buildings and celebrate or argue....whichever seems our congregational bent.

We've assumed we aren't a part of Pelosi or Limbaugh or Gates or Sotomayor. Too, we've removed ourselves from the economic concerns as if we have no place in it. We are wrong. We have forgotten. Jesus didn't hit earth to build mini-marts for Bible thumpers. He hit earth to bring relief to the political, economical, and social darknesses. He was the light and in resurrecting lit our wicks that we might do some damage to continual darkness.

Yes....we might have lost our way here and there. But I know us. Jesus is not an archaic puppet for a VBS flannelgraph. He is the head of the biggest movement ever to hit earth and he's still recruiting. The good news is that amazingly good and brave men and women are still signing up.

Make a difference. Awaken to the call to shed light in all the dark corners.