I spent the 4th with a college friend, her husband, and several people from their church. I wish I could have spent more than 24 hours with them, but it has been over six months, and we probably won't see each other again until Thanksgiving, so I took the opportunity when it arose. I asked them a question, one we here in Watseka ask each other pretty often: What is going showing you? I don't think either of them were prepared for a deep question like that, so it went unanswered. However, my friend's husband did say that he is unsatisfied with the state of the church in America, and that he would like to go overseas where "people will listen." I agree that the state of the church in our country is not one that glorifies Christ. However, the purpose of the church is not to satisfy its members. On the contrary, the purpose of the church is to reveal dissatisfaction within its members--dissatisfaction with our present state of being, dissatisfaction in our walks with Christ, with our relationships with others, with our sinful nature and the sins that come from that. Unfortunately, the church in American has sold out to the "me first" attitude that permeates our culture. We preach self-help sermons--how to improve our families, how to increase our wealth, how to do just about anything. We create programs for all ages to make us FEEL like we are doing something for the Kingdom, without really accomplishing much. Am I saying all programs are bad? No, not if the hearts of the coordinators are seeking God, and His will, alone. I look at the "mega" churches, full of "seekers"--the light shows, publishing companies, movies, curriculum that come out of them. I see programs that please the masses but do little to draw people to God. This is part of the reason I wasn't surprised at all when a mega church recently discovered that their programs were leading people to the cross, then leaving them there. I could have saved that church millions of dollars and hundreds of man hours in research and polls. But nobody listens to a small town girl in the middle of Illinois. I also wonder about the spiritual lives of the leaders of successful programs. My friend is a children's minister at a fairly large church. She loves God, wants to do His will, but I wonder how much time she has to spend getting to know the God she loves, discovering His will for HER life, not just the life of the ministry she leads.
I've rambled enough for tonight, but want to leave my handful of readers with this: What is my (your) purpose? Am I continually seeking God's will in MY life, not just in my ministry?
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