A Need

A Need

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”  
                                                            Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Are you and the Church you attend showing the love of God? Do people see the love and compassion of Jesus in you.
A man asked Jesus,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                          Matthew 22:36-40.
Is your church stuck on form, ritual and tradition?
I watched a news show today that said in the city of London England there is a group of people meeting who have no faith as such. They meet because they feel they need to be with other people.
That personal contact in is lost in the big impersonal city that is London. Apparently there are other such groups meeting like this around the world.
The article went on to say that the Church of England was in crisis in that it is losing many people. That three out of four people in England do not believe in God.
I firmly believe that it is the institution that is the Church of England and other mainline churches that are missing the mark.
They have failed to move with the times. They have built a gilded cage filled with ritual that has no relevance today.
By contrast the evangelical church is bucking the trend and growing.
Why? I believe because they are preaching a relevant message.
In our city I know of a pastor that went to a conference in the United States. His luggage got lost and he was reduced to blue jeans, white shirt and a black suit jacket.
He had to sit on stage like that among other pastors that were all wearing nice suits.
He then had an epiphany. He looked out and seen everyone was wearing the same fine suits.
No wonder he thought people were not coming to church. They take one look at the crowd and feel they don’t belong.
He went home and immediately told his staff no more suites on stage. At the very least business casual. No ties.
He had not been pastor of his congregation very long at that time. The congregation was languishing in the high four hundreds low five hundreds if that.
He started presenting the gospel in a relaxed relevant manner. One that did not compromise the teachings of Christ in any way. One that showed the love of God by trying to be inclusive.
Someone told me it was like putting fertilizer on grass the congregation started to grow. By the time he moved on eight or so years later the congregation was toping two thousand plus. It is still growing under its current pastor who also has a relaxed come as you are attitude. The church even opened two outreaches that are also attracting two hundred plus at each sight.
That church is not alone other churches in cities around us have done the same they’ve become come as you are churches with not expectations with respect to dress code.
It’s difficult in many of these churches to find people in suits today.
Even in our small congregation where the people are older suits are unusual. Our worship leader is frequently dressed in blue jeans.
We accept people as they are and present the word of God to them.
It’s working. People feel accepted and not under pressure to look a certain way.
Think about it Jesus didn’t care how a person was dressed. He associated with anyone. He preached everywhere from the temple to the shores of a lake.
The important thing with Jesus and his disciples is that the message of the love of God reached the world around them.
That everyone irrespective of how they looked, how they dressed or what their lifestyle was could come into a personal relationship with Christ.
Question to you Christian.
Would a person who is shabbily dressed or simply not dressed in their Sunday best be comfortable in your congregation.
Think about it.