Sing songs, offertory, communion, Sunday school, dresses, suits, and many others. Those are just few of the things most people think of when they hear "church." I know I'm guilty of that. Why is that? Why do we paint a picture of what church likes in our heads by the do's and don'ts? We often think of church as a place where we go Sunday morning and occasionally Sunday night. We say hi to people, sing a few songs, take part in the offering, listen to a message that go home. Church is so much more than that.
To be quite honest, I've grown up my whole life going to church and yes 'painting a picture' in my head of what church should be like. But that is wrong. No one should think there is a perfect church because there's no such thing. This semester I'm taking a Church Ministries class, and so far it's been great. My professor told us that
'CHURCH IS ALL THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS EVERYWHERE'
That is a great reminder to us all. Instead of focusing on church as being a big building that you have to go to on Sundays, instead remember that WE as Christians are the church. We are all followers of Christ who should be fulfilling the Great Commission. Yes, we should be attending a church on Sundays to worship God, don't get my wrong, but I think a lot of us often put too much emphasis on the do's and don'ts as i mentioned earlier, instead of relying on God and worshiping Him. He doesn't care if we are in an empty storehouse or in the middle of the street. All He cares about is our hearts. We can worship Him anywhere and anytime. It isn't just a one-time-meet-together kind of thing. It's a 24/7 commitment to following Christ. He is and should be the most important person in our life. What are we doing to fully commit to Him and give Him our whole self?
Another thing I know that has begun a big uproar in churches is music. A lot of people focus on staying to the traditional hymns for church. Where those are still good, that shouldn't be your only choice. There are many many other songs and artists who praise God with their worship and singing. Hymns are good, but when you sing it just because or have no joy what good does that do? It's like another thing on the checklist. Now I'm not bashing hymns whatsoever. I'm saying there is so much more out there where we tend to forget about. God wants us to bring honor to Him by our singing and we can still do that through Contemporary Christian music. God has placed a great talent on many people that sing and produce music that honors Him. We should not be so focused on the music of the church, but rather how we are growing together as a body of believers. If we start to put all our attention on the music, there may be disagreement and maybe even separation. Instead, focus on what will bring a smile to our Lord's face. He loves to see us full of joy and enjoy worshiping Him.
So, in summary I just wanted to share what's been on my heart and open up all our eyes to what God has instructed for us. He wants us to be growing in Him and bringing others to know Him as well. Instead of bringing others down or judging others by either what they wear or how they sing or whether they put their hands in the air when they're singing, rather focus on our own heart and see whether that would be pleasing to God or not. He wants our sacrifice to Him. Don't shut others out just because they may wear jeans to church, because there is nothing wrong with that. God looks at the heart not the outward appearance. In closing, I read on the back of someone's shirt once that read,
DON'T GO TO CHURCH; BE THE CHURCH.
