I think one of the biggest problems with the body of Christ today is that we have forgotten that we are to be a "house of living stones" not a house of segregated programs. And in case you were wondering, no, I'm not talking about a specific church. This is a universal problem in the American church. If my statements here apply to one, they apply to most.
It seems to me that for about the last 10 years pastors and church leadership have been trying to solve the problems of a lack of depth/discipleship and connection in their congregations.
Can I propose that the answer is not more programs, but fewer?!
As people get busier, they connect with others less- even if others are involved in that same busy-ness. As people are hammered with more and more information, they retain less of it. Simply creating another program with new curriculum and new vision to cast will not solve this problem-it will only add to it.
I believe that the loss of spiritual maturity and connectedness in our churches is directly related to the loss of the family as the central building block for the church community. This divorcing of church and family life started slowly occuring years ago as we began to depend on the church building, church staff and church programs to accomplish what every believer is called to accomplish in the context of the home.
I certainly plan on writing more about this (a wise person once told me that more people will actually read your blog entry if you keep it short), but let me end with a question.
How many programs would really be necessary if families truly functioned scripturally with:
- the husband loving his wife by selflessly washing her in the water of the word (Eph 5:25-27),
- and the father (with the support and help of the mother) raising up children in the wisdom and instruction of the Lord, teaching them diligently to obey what God has said (Eph 6:4, Deut 6:7)
- and children who honor their father and their mother not forsaking their teaching (Eph 6:1-3, Deut 5:16, Prov 1:8)?
Sounds like a perfect "small group" ministry that doesn't require another meeting per week. The best part is, it was designed by God and not man!
More later...
1 comment:
It is so easy to fall into the trap of expecting from the church what should happen at home. Yet when things are lining up with God's word in this matter, not only are we growing in Him individually and in our family, we actually feel more happy with our church. By not expecting the church to meet needs in our lives that it was never meant to fulfill, we release the church to function the way God designed. This is very clearly seen in some of the Mega-churches that are in metro areas like the Houston area, they have every conceivable program and small group, (they do really well with these programs) but the feeling of disconnectedness is almost tangible. (Not all Mega-churches are horrible though, we just feel more at home in our small, family oriented one! BTW) God's plan for everything is once again shown to be superior to our own! Imagine that! ;-)
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