Sweet friend,
If you are one of the 70.6% of Americans who claim to be a “Christian”, this one’s for you.
I want to start by being totally honest with you—I am not, and do not claim to be, an expert on Christianity, the church, the bible, or really anything else for that matter.
However, I do claim to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, otherwise known as a Christian, and I believe with all my heart that the Lord Himself has been teaching me quite a few things about what that means—and a whole lot about how we, as the American church, have gotten it wrong.
I have been going to church since at least 3rd grade and I have been to countless camps, conferences, and Christian concerts, so at 18 years old I honestly thought that I had a pretty good grasp on this whole church thing. You show up every Sunday morning and if you really want to be a faithful member you come on Wednesday and/or Sunday nights. You do your hair and makeup, you put on your nice clothes and your best smile and you shake the men’s hands and you hug the little old women and you ask how so and so’s mom is doing. You play with the little babies and high five the little kids. People ask how you are and you always say “oh I’m fine” and smile even if you have almost had a mental breakdown 3 times that week. You stand when the preacher says stand and sing along with the hymns although you’re trying not to be too loud for fear that people might actually hear your voice. You listen as someone rattles off the list of announcements and prayer requests and try to make a mental note of who’s having surgery or who’s in the hospital. You follow along as the preacher goes through his sermon and try your best not to nod off—it has been a long week after all. Maybe you hear something that challenges you but by the time you get home it’s usually forgotten among the 9 mile long list of things you need to remember to do that week. Then before you know it it’s Sunday again and you do it all over.
We all know how to do church, how to play the game. What we don’t know is how to be the church.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives some of His last instructions to the disciples before ascending to Heaven: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The following passages in Acts describe the early church soon after Jesus’ ascension:
Acts 2:41-42, 44-47: “Then those who gladly received his (Peter’s) word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers… Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 31-35 “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.”
Acts 5:40-42 “… and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
Acts 8:3-4 “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.”
As I studied many of these passages for the first time last semester, I was honestly surprised at what I found.
If one of the last things that Jesus physically told His followers to do was to “go” and to “teach”, why then do we so often find ourselves just sitting and listening?
If the early church was so secure about their future and ready to trust everything to God that they would sell everything they own so that none of their brothers and sisters in Christ would be in need, why is what many people think of as being the most Christian nation a culture that romanticizes independence, success, and personal gain?
If early Christians were so sure about their faith in Jesus that they spoke the truth of who He is with power and boldness to anyone who would listen, why do we as 21st century Christians find ourselves walking on eggshells to make sure that we don’t make any waves?
If they were beaten and warned not to speak the name of Jesus, if they were dragged out of their homes and taken to prison for sharing the gospel, and yet they REJOICED that they were counted worthy to suffer and still continued to spread the good news without fear, why do we find it hard to give up 10% of our paycheck or even a few minutes each day to spend time with our Savior?
Sweet friends, we’ve gotten it wrong. We’ve gotten it so wrong.
My desire is not to point fingers and most definitely not to condemn any one church—I have been loved and supported so well by some awesome churches that I love dearly. Actually, I’m not even really speaking about the church as the institution that our 21st century minds automatically go to. I am speaking about the church as the individual, as the body of Christ, as you and as me and as every other individual person that bears the name of Christ. Somewhere along the way, the American church has veered so far off the path that I don’t even think we know what the word “church” means anymore.
Jesus Himself tells us in John 10:10 that “the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy”. As I look around the United States, I can’t help but think that the thief has definitely come and he has us wrapped around his finger with one thing—distraction.
When I first decided to go on the World Race, I had a really hard time explaining to people what I was feeling. All I could say was that I felt restless, that something wasn’t right. Looking back now, I realize that everything had begun to feel fake. In this culture it is so so easy for us to get wrapped up in things that aren’t real. Things that seem important, things that we worry so much over and try to make perfect and feel like we HAVE to have or be or do, but in reality doesn’t matter at all.
I have this vision of Satan sitting back in his easy chair, sipping on some coffee, just watching our daily routines with a huge grin on his face because he knows that he has absolutely nothing to worry about. He has fed us so many lies for so long that he doesn’t even have to work at it anymore because at this point we don’t even realize that we’re living a lie. We have become like toddlers in the corner that he keeps busy with toys so that we don’t bother him or get into any real trouble.
It happens when we spend every waking moment stressing about school or work and think that getting an F in a class is the worst thing that could ever happen to us because we just know that when we reach that “American dream” where we have a white picket fence and a 401K, THAT is when we’ll finally be happy. It happens when we sit around in our air conditioning and sleep in our comfy beds and complain about how small our houses are because if we just had that next house down the street our life would be better. It happens when we sit in church on Sunday with our nice clothes on and try not to nod off during the sermon and we think that everything is okay. It happens when we do all of these things day in and day out that don’t actually matter in light of eternity and we forget about the spiritual battle that is raging all around us, all over the world.
Satan has come to steal and kill and destroy our souls and our ability to bring God glory and he is succeeding in the American church today.
When the church first started and Christians were just starting to be called Christians, they proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and as the risen Savior of the world with boldness and with power and without fear—and they didn’t have to be a preacher to do it. They fought the good fight of the faith—because it is definitely a fight—and they won souls for the glory of God. They lived together and ate together and shared with one another everything that they had because they knew that it wasn’t theirs anyway. Even amidst persecution they rejoiced in the Lord and continued to proclaim truth everywhere they went because they knew who God was and they exalted Him as total Lord over their lives. I’m not saying that the early church was perfect or that there aren’t any good churches/Christians in America today, but I think that a lot of times we tend to treat God like this pretty little vase on a shelf that makes people think that we’re a better person because we have it when in reality it doesn’t change anything about our lives.
In some of His last physically spoken words on this planet, Jesus called His disciples to action. He said GO and make disciples of all nations… yet still we sit.
1 Peter 2:9 tells us “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”
Our true purpose as Christians every single day is solely to bring glory to God by speaking the truth of who He is with boldness and with power and without fear in order to introduce others to those life changing truths and allow God to move and work, but Satan has sold us the lie that our purpose is to acquire more things and be more successful and fit in with the crowd and it is time that we as a church stop believing that lie.
It is time for us to stop playing church and start being the church. It’s not a bad thing to dress up and look nice for church, but we have to stop making it about us and make it about Him. It’s a great thing to come to the church building on Sundays and shake hands and listen to the preacher and make small talk, but we also have to get out of the church building and BE the church on the street.
People are dying every day in America and all around the world and going straight to hell whether their name is on a church roster or not. It is time for us to stop treating God like a pretty vase on a shelf and start treating Him like the God of everything who has total power and right to send us straight to hell, and will, if we don’t believe and put our total faith in His Son, our redeemer and our only hope for salvation. It is time for us to stop letting satan distract us from the real issues at hand and from the spiritual battle raging all around us. We, as the church, have got to pick up our armor and our swords and start fighting for the Lord and for the people around us like we were called to do from the beginning.
In Ephesians 6:10-20, Paul tells us “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
I know without a shadow of a doubt that I have wasted a lot of precious time, energy, and opportunities being distracted by Satan. I don’t want to live like that anymore, and I challenge you not to either. Let’s be bold. Let’s be alert. Let’s be that chosen generation, that royal priesthood, that holy nation, that we may proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Let’s put on our armor and fight. Let’s GO and let’s see God move and change lives. It’s so worth it.
Lovingly,
AM
