Church
Category: Religion and Philosophy

I have come to a wall in my walk in my Christian walk. It is what is proclaimed to be the Church of America. For years I was pacified by the sayings that the Church uses to deflect constructive criticism from it’s own flock. Sayings like if the church was perfect you couldn’t go because you would mess it up. I love Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, I thank him for his word, and blessings and to my own amazement I attend Church very often. I am a believer.

My best description of the church today is grain storage units. Some are little bins like those used on family farms and others are like the grain elevators in Kansas City. Theses elevators are huge and seem to go on for miles. They sort the grain by verity, age, etc. and store it for future use. Elevators take very good care of the wheat, as it is there lively hood. These elevators blow hot air through the wheat to keep it dry and from germinating. Wheat that germinates and starts to grow in a elevator due to moisture is not a good thing and can lead to big problems if too much moisture gets to the wheat it starts to grow and because the growing conditions are poor rot sets in begins to spread through the wheat and lots of loss revenue for the elevator. In the Kingdom of God there is a harvest!!! It is wonderful and grand. But there are to no elevators on earth. Kingdom seed is to produce fruit. Be planted, watered, and tended to. So that the grain produces a crop not just leaves and stems but grain. A church is to be like a farm or a vineyard.

There are many reasons for running elevator churches. While elevators are work, they are not like a farm were sun up to sundown there is always work to do. Where a 40 hour week and two days off are not even thought of. In elevators you can control the element and potential losses. In an elevator you can store the product till the commodity price goes up or you need the cash. Profitability, control and long term security are more attainable the running the elevator church then a farm church were you are much more subject to mother nature and acts of God.

The model that churches often use as there vision is a business plan. Reproducing like big box retail stores and fast food restaurants. Goal of increasing the sale converted to reaching the lost, except it works out to more like competing for customers. While God’s gifts are without repentance and there operations are evident in the churches, and He “Holy Spirit” continues to show up by his presents where two or more gather and during corporal worship. The the Church should not accept the gifts and presents of His Spirit as approval of their actions neither mandates or gives approval. It is clear from the Gospels that the priest and leaders of Jesus’ day took God’s presents in the temple and their positions and responsibilities as Gods approval. The business plan is about location, product, and customer service. In our American church this holds true. The church program needs to meet the needs of the congregation. You have nurseries, youth groups, young adults groups, singles, young marrieds, and in some progressive churches your have venues. Where you can go to the contemporary service, traditional service, coffee house, or next generation service. I personally enjoyed the coffee house service. It was great, good worship were I knew the tunes, coffee!!! and the message was streamed in on a video screen. While this seems to effective and good. It is only good when looked at through the cultural perspective of a capitalism.