Radical Christianity: Church Is Not An Option

I read a profound quote the other day that I not only agreed with but deemed as incredibly profound…Did you want to hear it?

HA…well this is my blog, so you don’t really have a choice, here it is…

“Parents that view the church as OPTIONAL shouldn’t be surprised when their children view it as UNNESSARY.”

WOW. I have seen it quite a lot. Parents raise their children in homes where going to church is a nice thing to do as a family as long as it doesn’t interfere with vacation, golf, AAU tournaments, or any other activity that life throws our way. They communicate with their actions that they “really like Jesus,” and there are some cool stories in His book but nothing too radical or “over the top.” Not a RELATIONSHIP but more of an AQUAINTANCE. We asked or wanted our kids to say a prayer when they are young so they don’t go to hell and teach them they can claim grace for living a life of unrepented sin. 

This would be a perfect example of a family that raises their child in the realm of viewing the church as OPTIONAL. But unfortunately, the old saying proves true… “What parents do in moderation, their children do in excess…” So, kids who turn into “adults” (or who turn 18 in their age but remain children in their maturity) start making their own decisions without mom or dads’ guidance or shepherding and decide that Jesus isn’t even real, and the Bible isn’t even valid. This ABSOLUTELY crushes their parents’ hearts in ways no words could ever express. 

Please understand my heart. I know this is real, and it really happens, and I am neither judgmental nor condescending about a very serious issue that is, unfortunately, growing more and more frequently. In the midst of that, there is really GOOD NEWS; in God’s economy, there is always HOPE! 

That hope is found in getting to know and understand the goodness of God and obeying His inspired Word. And what you will learn is that the Church is God’s PLAN A in being a light to the world, and there is no PLAN B (this is not original with me, so please do not think that I am that creative) 

I John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

I had a young man who is like a little brother in my life recently say, “I love God, but I hate the church.” (He gave me permission to share this) Listen, I know some of you have genuinely been hurt by people in the church. I have a couple of scars myself, but this verse very clearly communicates that if we are truly born-again believers in Jesus Christ, “we have fellowship with one another…” 

The church can be nasty because it’s filled with a whole bunch of sinners…just like YOU and ME! The Bible states that the best day of my existence on planet earth, when I shoveled snow from my grandma's porch, shared the gospel with 1000 people, gave a stray puppy a loving home, and stopped chewing my nails, even with all these badges of obedience my righteousness before God “…is as filthy rags….” 

Are you getting the picture? The church, you yourself are on no grounds to cast judgment on people who need Jesus just as much as you. St. Augustine once said very bluntly, “The church is a whore… but she is my mother…” Yes, she is broken, but she was loved enough by a holy God, that He sent His righteous Son, Jesus to die for you and for me…in other words, me and you, the church was worth it to God, and we MUST take that command seriously!

HERE ARE THREE ACTIONS OF A BIBLICAL CHURCH GOER 

1.       SERVE. 

The name Ron Amos doesn’t mean a hill of beans to you, but that is a name and a man I’ll never forget. He picked me up in his old, golden-colored minivan every Sunday morning at 6:18 am. Why? Because he would take me to church so we could set up chairs in preparation for all of Sunday morning functions. We would spend two hours on those Sunday mornings setting up each and every chair needed so old and young alike could hear the gospel, deepen their theology, and love and worship God more fully. How did this happen? Because some middle-aged man named Ron had a simple gift: SERVING. 

Did you know that when you accepted Christ as Savior (if you have done that), you were given spiritual gifts? (I Corinthians 12) They come in all shapes and sizes. My pastor, J.D. Greear, can preach fire from heaven! My friend Sean has INCREDIBLE amounts of wisdom! He can ask questions to get to the heart of, I bet, just about any problem. (Proverbs 20:5)

Each of us has at least one gift, but as John Calvin wrote, “In despising the gifts, we insult the GIVER.” I would venture to say you are bored with the church because you aren’t serving in it! Seriously. We go to church like spectators waiting to be entertained, served, and fed like a bunch of frozen barn animals who are just about good for nothing. Stop being a SPECTATOR and start being a PARTICIPANT.  Any child would be bored out of their mind if all they did was sit on the bench watching from a distance all other teammates playing in the game. The more you get involved in serving in your church, the more your faith comes to life. The more you take ownership of what you believe, the more you are going to go about obeying God’s Word and setting an example of what is expected as a believer and follower of Christ. 

Don’t wait until you “feel like it” …I didn’t feel like running in the 95-degree weather today; our feelings are liars. Tell the TRUTH of God’s WORD to your lying feelings. Cultivate a servant’s heart and make your walking with Jesus and your Service in His church come alive! 

2.       DISCIPLE. 

“No written word, no spoken plea, can teach the youth what they should be. Not all the books are on all the shelves; it’s what the teachers are themselves.” 

I think that this word “disciple” often sounds so misconstrued. We often think that it is some far-fetched idea that only a certain group of individuals can “disciple” anyone else. It simply means to share your life with someone. As you chase after the goodness and love of God you are inviting people to pursue Him with you. 

Again, this is not a recommendation if you all the sudden find courage or the time or are willing and able. God thought it was important and crucial enough to command it in His Word. The Bible says in Matthew 28:19,20,

“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 that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We are not simply called to make “converts” and then walk away from their lives wishing them the very best. We are called to make “disciples.” Walk with people through the ups and downs of life. They will not only need your strength, but you will also need their strength and the strength of others to make it through this life faithful to our calling.

In 2011, I was a camp counselor at Lake Ann Camp, located near Traverse City, MI. If you would ever have the opportunity to send your child there for a week, it will be one of the best investments you could ever make! I remember on a Monday morning, through God’s sovereignty, I received a letter from a mother sharing with me that one of my campers would be her son, who had Cerebral Palsy. She was sharing with me the challenges he would face throughout the week and that he often would fall 20-25 times a day. He would need his hand held to help him get from place to place and would often need to be pushed in his wheelchair.

As the rest of my campers began to arrive one by one, they all noticed Caleb. Due to his life circumstances, they would watch and observe, not sure how to interact or handle his Cerebral Palsy. As I observed, at the beginning of the week, most of these little 8 and 9-year-old boys would avoid being around him because they didn’t know what to do or how to act. But Caleb very quickly demonstrated that he was indeed approachable. He was filled with joy, laughter, joking, and a whole lot of old-fashioned heart! The other boys responded positively, and their love and affection for Caleb quickly grew stronger. 

In fact, by the end of the week anywhere Caleb went, EVERYONE followed. They held his hand when he would walk, considering it a privlege to help their newfound friend. They carried his tray for him at meals, helped him up when he fell, and stood by him every moment making sure that he was cared for. 

Those 4th and 5th graders may have showed up that week as campers attending a camp, but they left as brothers. Walking, standing, fighting, and even crying together because they experienced something that the human heart was made for…relationship. 

Discipling and pouring into another life is not an option. It’s a command in Scripture. Is It going to be perfect? NO. Will you have any idea what you're doing? Probably not. But I would much rather be faithful in failing while trying than unfaithful in failing while hiding. Ask your pastor!? GOOGLE IT. Read. Study. Seek. Pursue. You’d be surprised what God can do and how He can use failures like you and me. How much a heart and life can be changed and impacted for eternity. There is NO GREAT EARTHLY REWARD. 

Here is what I have experienced in my time on earth discipling and pouring into youth. I started investing in them because I thought God would use ME to change THEM. You know what happens? God uses THEM to change ME! 

3.       EVANGELIZE

The other night, I got off work early and started running. I had gone no further than a quarter mile when a man stopped me on the road. He was noticeably in emotional pain. He was weepy, his breath smelled of alcohol, and he had two bags filled with his earthly belongings. At first, I was mentally prepared, if necessary, to fight if he came at me. After a few minutes of conversation, I knew he meant no harm. He had just been “kicked out” of his home and had no place to go. It was raining, and darkness was setting in. I helped him carry his heavy bags up a hill to a corner of the road where we could at least stay dry. I called the local law enforcement to see if there was anything they could do to help. An officer came to us promptly, was extremely kind, and wanted to do anything he could to be a help, but there was only so much he could do for the man. The man was for sure in a vulnerable state, not desiring to reach out to any of his family for help and being intoxicated. 

The officer left, and it was just the man and me on the side of the road. To my own shame, I wanted to get back on my run, so I told the man, “I’m sorry, but there is nothing else I can do,” but offered to pray for him. I started to pray and asking God to help him…in the middle of my prayer I stopped and realized that me praying for him was a joke. Here I am asking God to help him when I am standing right beside him, just as capable of doing something instead of praying that somebody else would. 

I told the man I would be right back. I went back to my apartment, grabbed my roommate (for help and support), and we did our best to look out for the man and put him in a position of safety for him to at least reach out to those who were more capable of helping him with whatever is next for him.

I have observed MANY people in my walk with the Lord who accepted Him as Savior but haven’t shared Him with anyone in YEARS! Like myself in the story of this man on the side of the road, I pray a prayer asking God to send someone else so I don’t have to inconvenience myself or get my hands dirty. We have our neighbors, our teammates, our coworkers and we KNOW they don’t have a relationship with Christ, yet we have done NOTHING to share Him with them! Sure, we say we would “love” for them to come to the Lord just as long as it's not us who has to risk the chance of being rejected, laughed at, or mocked.

And how quickly we forget that the Son of God went through those very things for the brokenness of our own hearts…Why? Because He truly “loved us…” 

Matthew 25:35-40 says, 

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

The point of your existence, as a follower of Jesus Christ, is NOT to sit safe and comfortable in your million-dollar home, out of harm and dangers way. It is to take the good news of God’s love to a world that desperately needs to hear it. Life is not a tee-ball game where we sit in the outfield picking daisies; it's WAR. Satan wants your life destroyed. It's time to WAKE UP. The lost need help, and if we are “ambassadors” of Christ, that means we have the heart He has towards lost people who were once you and me! If we love them, then what are WE going to do about it!

Proverbs 20:7 says, “The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!”

Young parents. Old parents. Future parents. Your children are or will be watching. If you want their lives to be “blessed," full of the Holy Spirit, and faithful to God all of their days on earth, then I plead with you to let them see you truly in love with Jesus Christ and committed wholeheartedly to His Church. Make it the priority of your lives to seek Him first in all you do. It will not only change YOUR life, but it will also shape your child’s life for years long after you are gone! 

God, may we love Your Church with all our hearts.