Is It Black or Is It Blue?

I have to say that I’m when told that something is black and the actual color is blue, I am NOT someone who will sit by quietly and go along with the propaganda.  Any of you who know me well, will attest to that.

Lately, it seems that situations along this line are something I’ve been wrestling with.  Things are black and white or wrong or right.  It is very disturbing to me when I see folks twisting the truth to accomplish their own agenda.  And, what’s more…when they’re found out, they refuse to admit wrongdoing. I thought transparency was the best policy?  Oh yeah, I guess that’s for everyone except church leadership! (Ouch…true, but ouch!)

Now the sticky part…of course I’m speaking about The Church…no, not any church in particular…The Church.  Now, before you get your tail feathers ruffled, please realize that I am grateful for The Church.  I am a member of The Church, The Body of Christ, and I am in no way bashing it.  I am simply going to share my thoughts on what I have experienced over the past several years.  My hope and prayer is that we…The Church…will make some decisions to focus on people…not just SAY those words…but truly focus on people and their needs in all aspects of life.  Are we so focused on numbers and growing churches bigger and bigger that we are essentially leaving folks in our wake simply because we want to have a “growing church…or look good…or have the biggest church?”

I have had conversations with leaders that spout out things like a car salesman who has memorized something as a sales pitch for the “answers” to my questions.  Those answers would be fine if all of the “book learning” they repeated were truly the answer.  They weren’t the answers to my questions.  What I have found is so many leaders, young and old, “know” exactly what to say because of what they’ve been taught.  But what is lacking is a true leading of the Holy Spirit.  Who?  Yes, the Holy Spirit. So many in the church have become so educated about ministry and running a church that they rely on their own head knowledge entirely too much.  Did you know that some Bible translators are even re-writing the Bible and leaving out important things such as the actual Holy Spirit?  It’s true!  I’m not against education in any way and I say again…I am not bashing anyone.  I am sharing with you what I have experienced at several different churches.  I have been extremely confused and upset at times at the cold and ineffective answers I have gotten to some very challenging questions I have asked several leaders over the past several years.  (Q:: “Why can’t we give folks an opportunity to accept Jesus as their Savior?”  A:: “It’s not part of the program.”---Yep, this really happened!)

 

But God!!  Yes, but God…He has crossed my path with someone who is not only highly educated, but also is a Spirit led person and has extensive experience within the church.  I have spoken with this person for several hours over the past month or so and I find that I am not alone, but I am in the minority in my thinking.  I also have learned that I’m not entirely wrong in what I’m seeing in The Church.  I cannot begin to tell you just how grateful I am for this new relationship.  I thank God…His timing is so perfect… and right when I was beginning to feel hopeless.      

I find that churches are looking for the young, educated and dare I say good looking folks to be leaders.  Hmmm…this sounds a lot like how the book of Daniel opens up in Babylon!!  King Nebuchadnezzar only wanted the young good looking, educated “movers and shakers” of their time and he wanted nothing to do with God.  (I’m not saying that churches don’t want anything to do with God…but, if we don’t rely on the Holy Spirit aren’t we ignoring Him?)  Now I have nothing against folks who happen to fall into this category, but my question is; what about the rest of us?  Are we not all called of God for the special purpose that He made each and every one of us for…regardless of where we are in our walk with the Lord?  I have had conversations with a leader who said that they actually banned a person from being on the worship team simply because they didn’t like something that was going on in that person’s personal life.  My jaw hit the floor! The issue they explained to me wasn’t even something “bad.”  My thoughts were that they were missing out on a wonderful chance for the Lord to help someone learn a different way of doing things in their life.  By banning this person from the worship team, feelings were hurt and it’s my understanding that this person moved on to another church…who knows if the issue ever got resolved.  Another is where it’s claimed that women are celebrated for their God given gifts and talents, but they’re limited to the “kitchen” ministry or working with other women and children only.  One place won’t even allow a woman’s name to be listed as a “worship leader.”  Wow!!  I hope Darlene Zschech or Kari Jobe don’t move to the area and want to be a part of this worship team.  At one place a person was told that they could play the guitar on the worship team, but the volume may be turned down because they weren’t sure that they should be heard….REALLY?!?  I happen to know this person and they are currently on a team where the volume for them is not turned down and they are an appreciated member of the worship team.  (These are only a few of the stories that I’ll share for time’s sake.)


Is this how Jesus treated his disciples?  From what I’ve read about my Lord and Savior, my answer is “no!”


One word…Babylon!!  Church, we have got to do better…much better!  We are in the world but not of the world!  Are we so focused on appearing perfect…while actually being superficial, that we’ve lost what being a follower of Christ is all about…lost hurting people?  Of course we want to be organized, focused and communicate well.  Those things are much needed within any organization.  But, doing so at the cost of hurting people who simply need Jesus is not the way to go about doing it.  Calling yourself a Christ follower without treating people the way Jesus treated them is like telling me that the color black is really blue.  That doesn’t wash with me. 

Jesus loved people.  That’s why He gave up Heaven, came to earth and lived an everyday life just like us.  He experienced everything that we have or ever will experience…but yet, He never sinned.  That blows my mind…He never sinned!  In the midst of living here on earth, He did what His Father wanted Him to do.  He was led by His Father.  It didn’t matter if He was in a hurry to get somewhere, if He was led to stop and take care of someone, that’s exactly what He did.  He is our ultimate example!  Are we open to the leading of the Holy Spirit when we’re in a hurry or when it’s inconvenient for us?  Do we “stiff arm” people because we don’t want to deal with the “mess” of their lives?  What about those who look different than us…maybe they have piercings, tattoos or colored hair?  There is a business that is known for its Christian values, but their standards are to not hire folks who “look a certain way.”  Really?!?  What an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life who maybe doesn’t know the Lord.  And…what about those who do know the Lord and have piercing, tattoos or colored hair.  Are they discriminated against because they don’t look the part of a “typical Christian”…whatever that is?  Honestly and quite bluntly…I don’t believe that Jesus cares what they look like physically.  It’s their heart He wants.  Why aren’t we…The Church…more concerned about people’s hurting hearts?  Folks, the fields are ripe for harvest!  It’s not for us to decide that the harvest doesn’t “look” like a harvest that we want to reap.  I believe we’re hired to do a job in spite of what the harvest looks like.

With the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior at hand, I encourage you to search your heart, ask the Lord to show you what attitudes you may have about the lost and hurting.  If not for the grace of God, you or I could be that homeless man or woman looking for their next meal.  You are blessed because you have a roof over your head and food on your table whether your income is 10 dollars per year or 10 million a year.  None of us is any more special than the other. (Read that over and over until you get the reality of it.) God loves us all the same.  In Him, we are all on an even playing field…even though that’s really not how we, The Church, act a lot of the time.

Jesus is coming soon and He’s looking for a Bride without spot or blemish.  I believe it has more to do with our individual / collective hearts than it does the look of our churches, the sound of our worship team or the sophistication of the message.  Of course we want excellence for our King, don’t get me wrong, but let’s not do it at the expense of the hearts of others.  Let’s share the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ!!  Isn’t that what He wants us to do?  Don’t accept the color black being called blue just because someone you respect is calling it that.  You have a body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit of your own.  Look to God and be led of the Spirit…he will not lead you wrong!!