Ekklesia and the Machine.

     Let's talk about the church for a second. I know that no local church is perfect. But if we are those called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, should we not be where His heart is? With the broken? Church is not a place for perfect people. So often we wait for people to come to us, unaware and uncaring that there are people all around us DYING. Some literally and some spiritually, but either way....many of my neighbors and friends are going to Hell. And we spend more time worrying about the style of the worship service, or if wearing a hat should be permitted in the church, or if we should sing all 7 verses of a hymn or just pick 4 of them at random. After all, we have to be out of here in an hour. And I'm getting hungry. 
     It's been easy for me to look at the church that I'm working with and point out all its flaws. This morning in church, during the service, we had an open discussion about homosexual relationships. The woman speaking asked us to offer up our own opinions, admitting that the church didn't hold a solid view on it. You know I cannot NOT give my opinion, especially when it's asked for ;) So as the 22 year-old American, I reminded a room of elderly, church-going, life-long Christians to look at the Bible for truth - God's wrath and love for all sinners. It saddens me that the Church of England doesn't hold overall views on most controversial issues like this; many leaders in the church don't actually see the Bible as ultimate authority, saying that each author had their own agendas when writing the Scriptures and that many of Jesus' miracles (including the virgin birth) may be less than legitimate. So the church pews are filled with people who have very little idea of who Jesus Christ actually was and why it's crucial to believe in the Bible, especially when working in ministry with students. And with less than a handful of people under 18 at my church here, the nation-wide church in England could easily become obsolete in the coming years. However, I firmly believe that this young generation could be the key for reviving the Bride of Christ in England, and while working with the church itself can be discouraging at times, it's amazing to watch the positive growth among students. After all, Jesus is in the business of using the foolish things in this world to shame the wise! 
     I grew up in a non-denominational Bible church in the Bible Belt of the freaking world. But it wasn't until college when I began to look around and notice that the global church wasn't as cool and popular as I thought we were. The world sees us as judgmental hypocrites. We'd much rather rally behind a fast food chain because we think they hate gay people than realize how our own "respectable sins" of gossip or anxiety are JUST AS EVIL IN GOD'S EYES. As a nation and a species, we've twisted God into our own image so we can justify our habits of: living missionally - only if we're on a missions trip, tithing to the church so we can reap the benefits of a new cafe in the church lobby, or buying a homeless dude lunch so we can walk away feeling AWESOME about ourselves. 
     I'm reading a book called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. Read this book: it'll turn your world upside down. This Austin pastor's wife describes her family's adjusted lifestyle when she examines 7 areas of extreme excess in our American culture, and how a Christian striving to live a truly radical life can fight against this machine. In a chapter entitled "Spending" she wonders if the simple, humble Jesus who sought the company of sinners could ever feel comfortable in our churches. Looking at Luke 11:37-42 she says that the brave believer will admit that Jesus is talking about us. Jesus never describes being wealthy in a positive light. And whether you believe it or not, if you can read this, YOU ARE WEALTHY. So often I hear, "it's not how much money we have, it's how we use it." But isn't it true that if we use it how Jesus would, we wouldn't have any left? What if we are actually called to live a crazy radical life and that we should fear prosperity over simplicity and poverty? Jesus says it's almost impossible for a rich man to enter heaven. And we all think we're the exception, the <1% of those who make it possible. Are we? How much money, time, energy do we spend advancing eternity and how much is spent on our short lives? "If tithing the minimum and consuming the rest is okay, then we can dismiss Jesus' ideas and act obsessed about other stuff he said." -Jen Hatmaker in 7. 
     And then we say, "Oh but Jesus' culture was completely different than the 'land of the free, home of the brave;' we can't compare to the first century church in Acts. We've evolved. But "what if Jesus knew our Christian culture would design a lovely life template - complete with all the privileges and exemptions we want...but He still expected radical simplicity, generosity, obedience from those with eyes to see, ears to hear?" Can you imagine???
     I know, we've heard all this before. And I'm not sure what to add that will make even myself see reality from God's eyes. But I do know that I can't stop trying and reminding myself of Jesus' position on this. I can't afford to miss this. With countless people entering eternity every day because I fail to be the church designed by my creator, this should be a bigger deal. I spend too much time on myself. I want out of this machine; it doesn't feel like freedom. Thank you, Switchfoot. 

Here are just a couple things I've remembered in the past few weeks:

1. The Bible is CRAZY important. So often we discuss our own opinions and ideas, forgetting to go the God's very words for truth. Because the Bible is 100% truth, God-breathed. So read it. Study it. Memorize it. Breathe it. Speak it like it's a language. Jesus did. 

2. Which leads me to say that reading the Bible allows us to know Jesus and act more like him. We are made to be "little Christs," as the word "Christian" implies, not to mold Jesus into our own culture so we can feel good about our actions. 

     Sorry for the crazy-long rant, but there's just been a lot on my mind lately. I haven't even begun to describe the cool things that have happened with the students in the past week. But I think this is enough for now. Goodnight friends.