consumers or christians?

i have been a little frustrated as of late about the way some christians view church...

i have had the privilege of coming across and getting to know some amazing people during my ministry in chicago. i mean really phenomenal people. men and women with great hearts and innovative ideas. for the most part i love dialoguing with them about their insights of how to improve our church and further the KINGDOM work in our great city. they have challenged me and excited me to the core. with some though (not all), i have observed a troubling pattern:

opinions are easy to come by, but folks who are willing to dive in and get their hands dirty are few and far between.

don't get me wrong i know they mean well, but it has been apparent to me that if their ideas aren't something that you jump on immediately, they will gravitate to another church to try and find someone or someplace that will suit them. i understand that these people are passionate about what they are talking about, but what is troubling is that the majority of these folks aren't willing to do the work themselves. you see they have brilliant visions, but they want you to execute their ideas for them. they treat the church like it should come beckoning at their every demand. there is a dangerous sense of entitlement that comes with many of these people. generally, they want to lead with their ideas but they are not willing to be led. additionally, they usually exhibit the patience of a four year old.

you see the fundamental problem is that they view church as something that is supposed to meet their needs. whatever happened to christians coming to church to offer it something, and not the other way around? it grieves me that we live in an age where people leave church because they don't like the decorations on the wall, or the style of music played. what b.s.

the church is the body of JESUS. we worship together, take communion together, proclaim the gospel together. where in that equation is the church suiting me or the individual agenda? last i checked there is no 'me' in 'church'.

i guess i would love to hear these same folks voice their innovative ideas and in the same breath say; 'this is quite a task, but i am going to go for it no matter what the cost.' with that attitude and commitment to 'do' church instead of 'go' to church, i believe a spirit of unity will sprout. we will pray together, share resources together, and work together to see these GOD given dreams come to fruition.

i hope this doesn't sound overly critical. i just pray for a day when the consumer christian is so fat from feeding off of the 'church buffets' they can't get out of their bed and come to my church.

JESUS save us from ourselves!

peace,

j

sunday thoughts:

i haven't done this in a while so i am going to try and get back in the groove:

- overall it was a great day!

- attendance was strong at both sites: 350+ at Wrigleyville & 75+ at Wicker Park.

- Jameson did a great job leading us in worship. He is a stud and I appreciate him greatly.

- we have been kicking the idea around of introducing art stations in Wicker Park... i really am interested to see if this will resonate with our peeps down there.

- it was cool to have John Stockman share in Wrigleyville. Just to have him on stage with his tattoos and piercings, saying 'pissed off' was amazing... but then to hear him talk about how GOD is building him; it was tremendous. i am proud of our community :-)

- we introduced our membership process this week... our prayer is that people 'get it' and hop on the bus.

- one of the hard things about being a pastor: 99% of the time I have a deep restlessness. I never feel like we have arrived. No matter how great the victory, it isn't enough... I just want ALL that GOD has for us. i don't want to settle for anything less. I wonder though, if I am guilty at times of idolizing the move of GOD'S SPIRIT. is it GOD i am longing for or is it GOD moving that i am longing for? I pray that I learn to rest in JESUS... to be fully satiated with HIM and HIM alone... only to know HIM, and be found in HIM!

j