"Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory." 1 Timothy 3:16
Admit it, you are curious. You must be, or you wouldn't be reading this blog. What is it about Central Church of Christ that has people so charged up? The people who attend this church seem so happy--they are always out doing things together in the community. The other churches of Christ in the area seem so upset about the things we are doing. Sometimes, there are even passionate editorials written in the paper about what people at Central are doing.
Yet, our membership continues to grow, as we now have two services and our numbers continue to increase each month. People seem to either passionately love or passionately dislike Central--something is creating a lot of passion in this place. What is it? The answer is infinitely simple and infinitely complex.
The answer is.....Jesus.
You see, the story of Jesus has been told and retold, all throughout the ages. Many different denominations have emerged through the years, there are different churches on every corner in this town that seem to have their own "flavor" of Jesus.
Some people believe that we should worship Him on Sundays, some on Saturdays. Some worship with huge bands of instruments, others worship Him simply with the sound of their own voices. Some have Wednesday night Bible studies, and some rely on their preacher to read the Bible for them and just tell them what it says. Some churches have hard wooden pews and worn out song books, while others have cushiony chairs and Power Point slides. Some churches have pot luck meals in members' homes, others in the church building.
Most all of these church people go to church, sit in a pew, check it off their list of "good things I did this week" and go on about their business. They sit in Sunday school classes and talk about how they have it all figured out, but their neighbor at the church across town, bless his heart, he is totally wrong in his approach to Jesus, tsk tsk tsk.
These differences get people really fired up and passionate, and fights break out among "church-going Christians" about all these things.
What about the people on the outside, looking in? What about the people who aren't born-and-raised-three-times-a-week-every-time-the-door-was-open-my-Mama-took-me-to-church people? What do they think about all this bickering?
I have gotten to meet a few of these people through our work with Mission Athens. Most of these people, upon hearing of these squabbles, get a faraway, eyes glazed over look on their face. They just don't get it.
It seems so ridiculous.
What about Jesus?
What have we done with our Lord's story?
Where is the love?
Where is the majesty?
Where is the glory, the chill bumps on the back of our necks, wonder of it all?
Take a moment today, close your eyes, and think about the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He was born in a barn to parents who lived in poverty. At the young age of about 12, He began His life's work of serving others, sharing food, telling everyone about God's love for them, preparing the way to His Father's house. He attracted people everywhere He went. And then, one sad day, this world beat him up, nailed him to the cross, and stuffed him in a tomb behind a rock.
And then, our Lord overtook death; He conquered the grave. He was seen by angels and by men and women in His beautiful glory, and He ascended to the right hand of God, and there He is today, watching all of us, and I wonder if sometimes, He shakes His head.
Does our Lord look down at His family, the people who have proclaimed Him and think, what are you doing?
We are His disciples here on earth. There are so many people here who we need to tell His story. There are millions who need us to feed them, help them, care for them in His name, and yet, we are pointing our fingers at each other, claiming we have all the answers to the perfect way to worship Him.
We sit in pews when we should be out in the streets. We cling to those who believe the exact iterations we believe, who practice our same traditions, instead of working side by side with our neighbors from the church down the street, as a unified body of Jesus, fighting for souls all around this world who need us to proclaim His hope.
Is Jesus on the outside of our churches, looking in? Or is He in our presence, working in our hearts, serving as our purpose, our guiding light, our sole hope of salvation?
I'm all about worshipping God. I am so thankful that I was blessed by Him to be born in a country where I have the freedom to worship Him any way I choose. I am so thankful you have that right, too.
I am not trying to minimize any one's right to a different opinion on the right way to worship. You do your thing....
I am just so over it.
I am over trying to be perfect. I am over going to a church service only to walk out feeling like I can never be good enough. I am over churches that seem so much like a club, and only a few people get to be members. I am over placing tradition over transcendence.
I just want Jesus.
Two years ago, my family and I were curious, too. We walked into the doors of Central Church of Christ on Friends and Family Day. We sat down, started singing songs, began to worship, and over the next few months, we all felt Jesus in our midst in a way we just hadn't before. My children, who before I had to drag to church kicking and screaming, started asking me on Thursday how much longer until Sunday, Mom, can we go to church? My husband worked like a dog cutting trees in strangers' yards after the April 27, 2011 tornadoes with teams of men from Central. All five of us have worked together on Mission Athens projects. And, for the first time in my life, I am going to teach an adult Bible class starting next month.
We have all grown, all five of us. We have begun to experience Jesus in our own ways. We are not perfect yet, and we will never be. We have learned to accept the beautiful truth that Jesus does not call us to be perfect, just to perfectly love Him.
I am not promising you that you would have the same experience if you came to Central. You may or may not. It is certainly not a perfect place, how could it be? We are all imperfect people who worship there.
You see, I have often said Central is like a refugee camp for people from churches all around town. Some of us are here because we never felt good enough at other congregations. Some are here because we sinned and our church families couldn't forgive us, not really. Some are here because we want to be a part of a body of believers that is living the Gospel in action, not just saying the words on Sundays. Some are here because we fell in love with someone who grew up in that "not so good" church down the street, and we are trying to find a place our new family can grow together.
You know who some of the coolest people at Central are, though? They are the ones who found Jesus for the first time in this place. They are not bogged down by all this bickering, squabbling, and silliness. They are the ones whose eyes glaze over when we start talking about all of it. They are the ones we think about and smile, because we have something in common with them....
All of us are here because we want Jesus.
Do you want him, too? Do you feel like you are on the outside, looking in? Curious?
Come and join us on Sunday, August, 26 at 9 am for our Friends and Family Day. Stay for Sunday School. We are having a pot luck meal immediately following, and we would love to have you join us. We really mean that.
If you are curious, we will be talking about the 40-year history of Central, where we have been and where we are going. I have only been a part of the church for two of the forty years, and I can't believe how much my life has changed. I would love to share this wonderful experience with all of you.
We are not a perfect church.
We do serve a perfect Savior. We are passionate about serving Him in real, meaningful ways.
We don't really care if other people talk about us, especially if they have never even walked through our doors.
We know He may seem like a mystery, but we are discovering His truths together.
Come, discover Him with us.
