Holes

"We’ve got a plague of holes in our theology, holes in our worship, and holes in the thinking of the folks in our churches. Holes in our mission, holes in in our witness, we have good intentions but a glance at our efforts show that something is missing. Is it love? Is it faith? Is it compassion? Or is the secret truth that we hate HIM? Is it energy? Vitality? Are we equipped to see reality? Is the simple truth that the church folk are happy and unconcerned with the plight of the unredeemed? Do you go to church once a week just to see and be seen!? While God is still on mission, and God is still omniscient, are we satisfied stuffing our own faces on religion?"- Quest-boogie, Quest-ions

Church boy sits in weekly service, and listens to repetitive expressions that we use in our gatherings to describe and honor our King, our LORD, and our redeemer. Listening in, I can’t help but ask the question . . .is this it?


Is this what the preacher tries to convince me to give my time, talents, and treasures to support? Is this the purpose of the church? Is this all I can expect from the God they told me about? Is all that I can expect from the faith, just 2 hours on a Sunday morning, most of it wasted with mundane chatter, listless "worship", low views of both God and scripture? Is our structure so removed from the God that we were told about that we breed people who go through the motions of worship service without engaging God in worship or others in service? Is this what Christ dwelled among us for? Is this the call of ministry, rhetoric? Are we content with a "Christianity" without Christ, community or compassion? Historic articles of faith without action. "Worship" without wonder? Religion without relationship?

I hear us describe the infinite, omniscient, holy, God who created heaven and earth, as "alright", merely "good all the time", "my homie" and any other number of distorted cliches.

How dare we reduce the incomprehensible God with whom all things are possible to an understatement? How dare we allow ourselves to hold and propagate such a low view of GOD? Have we really encountered his goodness? Do we really comprehend the value of His finished work? Is there anything of substance to our faith or is God just the stuff of cliches or is he more?

Church boy listens to our praise and our worship and observes our impact, or lack there-of, in our communities and remembers Fredrick Douglas' critique of the church,

"A worship that can be conducted by persons who refuse to give shelter to the house less, to give bread to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and who enjoin obedience to a law forbidding these acts of mercy, is a curse, not a blessing to mankind. The Bible addresses all such persons as "scribes, pharisees, hypocrites, who pay tithe of mint, anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy and faith." from Fredrick Douglas', What to the Negro is the 4th of July?

Is this us? Have we substituted being "wise" and common sense for being loving to our neighbor?

Are we truly concerned with the being witnesses to His worth and His person? Are we living as disciples, or merely engaging in self-centered entertainment? I want more! or is that less?

"We've got holes in our search and, holes in our purpose, holes in the revolving doors of our churches."

I wonder, is the reason that we aren't as effective as we could be is because we've erected barriers to the faith? Are we so consumed with programs, busy-work and professionalism, that we've lost sight of the gospel, community, life together, and maturity? Have we organized the organism into a static robot of status and structure? Have we lost sight of our purpose as the redeemed people of God in the world? Are we wasting the time instead of redeeming it? Are we waiting for the return of the Lord before we begin living in obedience? Are we really going to hide in a dark world without living a public faith that touches life where it happens. WE CAN BE MORE!

In the times where life slows down some, a sneaking suspicion peeks through the calm that there is a life that is more intentional, more selfless, more sacrificial, more loving and more authentic, "The good life".

Somewhere in the deep recesses of my soul, beats a desire for something less complicated, less busy, less shallow, less self-absorbed, "The good life". I want less waste and more life, less redundant, more abundant, LIFE less complicated, more simple. A life of loving God passionately, loving others sincerely, loving the body deeply, is that less? Is it more? Is it the key to plugging the, holes?