A Remembrance of Praise!

A Remembrance of Praise!

by | Sep 6, 2019 | CHURCH, Kingdom Living

One evening during my study break this past summer I found a documentary over George Washington on Amazon Prime.  As Debi and I watched the preview for the docudrama, she got the sense the flick was more hero worship than historical.  We didn’t take in the show so I can’t make a review.  But I did wonder if maybe a little hero worship might not be a bad thing these days.

You see, we live in a culture of criticism today where anything that is not 100% aligned with our feelings is speculative and everything is open for potshots.  Cynicism is supreme and praise is problematic.  No, we don’t want to deify people nor turn a blind eye to blatant sin.  However, when we are geared toward tearing down, we miss so much good intertwined with the weeds that we pull up the whole plant and have nothing to encourage ourselves with or learn from.

One arena where this is especially seen is in discussions about the church.  Even celebrated Christian writer, Francis Chan, noted that his objective in a recent book was to “point out areas where the church is lacking.”   Areas where the church is lacking?  We all know that local bodies of Christ have issues.  I’ve been in some form of Christian ministry for over 25 years and I can tell you plenty of stories of dysfunction.  The question though is one of focus.  What will we choose to spend our time looking at; the problems or the praise?  This is especially true for followers of Jesus.  Yes, there are issues to be discussed and strategies to be employed for improvement.  However, when we do nothing but throw stones at the church, we are ultimately harming ourselves.

When I look around at the world today and see all the pains and problems, I am also quickly reminded that Jesus has the answers in his body, which is the universal church.  Loneliness is alieved when people connect passionately with Jesus at the center.  When the local church family is embraced, we find healing and purpose in a world of self-centeredness.  In short, while there are issues arising from our broken humanity, we owe it to ourselves and those who come after us to pursue and praise the local church which is to reflect the authentic universal and eternal Church.

But on a more intimate note, one of my favorite Biblical pictures of the church is the Bride of Christ.  It’s interesting to see the tension of this illustration with a book by Dan Kimball entitled, “They Like Jesus but Not the church.”  Here’s the deal.  I am not perfect nor is my wife. However, if someone began to trash talk my bride and say they liked me, but not her, well then, our relationship would be over with.  You just don’t talk bad about my bride.  Jesus probably doesn’t like it much when people talk down His Bride especially with a caviler attitude.  That ought to challenge us.

I’ll be making some posts this fall on the church and I hope they will be of an encouragement to you. I hope that at the end of all this, you will love the church as much as I do.  Yes, there are and will be problems.  But it is my desire that we might own up to our responsibilities and stand together to praise the Bride of Christ as much as He does.

What are some positive memories or praises that you can give about the universal Church or your local body of Christ today?

Francis Chan, Letters to The Church (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2018), 211.

Loving CHURCH!

by | Apr 25, 2012 | CHURCH, Just Life

At The Crossings this past Sunday we started a new series called Discovering Authentic Church.  I love the Church and so do many of you.  But I also know that some of you really don’t resonate with the whole idea of Church.  Some of you have been burnt or jaded because of something someone did while wearing the name Christian.  Others have experienced things in the name of Church that don’t feel too much like Jesus.  I get that.  It reminds me of a book that Dan Kimball wrote in 2007 entitled They Like Jesus, but not The Church.   I’ve met Dan before and have heard him speak, so I know where he’s at on the issue.  He loves Jesus and the true Church.  He just points out that a lot of folks have simply been presented with a counterfeit model of the Church.  I get that and have probably felt some of that pain in my own pilgrimage.  I know I have.  But my hope is that in this study we can see a picture of what the authentic Church really looks like.  I hope we can clean up the mess of misunderstanding.

The true CHURCH is seen in scripture as a beautiful creation of God.  She is loved by God.  No, the Church is not perfect, at least not now.  That’s because it’s made up of imperfect people.  But she is still the “Bride of Christ.”  Because of that significance, I hope everyone can take a second look at this mystery called the Church.  As we continue through this series I hope you’ll ask questions and open up to what it means to experience Authentic Church.  Yes, I love the Church and hope you will too.

What are some of your stories of experiencing the counterfeit?  What are some of your stories of finding the authentic?