Perusing the Facebook news feed always leads to great finds. There are always the political rants going in full force (my favorites are from the ones who esteem themselves as the most educated and well-articulated... and who can't get through a single sentence without several F-bombs), articles on the deterioration of public education in America (my favorites as an educator myself), and the random photos/memes (please, no cat-lover pages...).
Nevertheless, a good friend of mine posted a quote from an article. Upon the reading the article and his quote, my own thoughts stirred. Here is his quote, followed by the link to the article, and lastly my response.
Friend: “Clearly what Jesus was really into was having guns, and not having abortions, and not being gay. Those are his main priorities. But after he made sure that everyone had a gun, no one had an abortion, and nobody was gay, he had a little think about the poor people and whether they needed anything.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/11/russell-brand-4-billion-spent-on-elections-but-feeding-the-homeless-is-illegal/
My response: "The sad thing is that the church has dropped the ball in 1) taking care of its own and 2) equipping itself to be able to make a difference in the lives of others. When we began relying on the government and social programs is the day the church "lost" much opportunity. It is still there, but I wonder if the church will rise to the occasion?"
(I apologize as my thoughts develop further... actually... I don't apologize. Here are my thoughts.)
I am not against social programs to help the poor, but I hate that the church has let others take over that aspect of "the market." Before welfare and such, that was one of the obvious functions of the church: to see the need in the community and take care of it.
Over time it appears the role and function of the church has changed. It shouldn't have changed. Jesus was clear that we were to "go and make disciples." We were to go and heal the sick in his name. We have that authority in Jesus' name; he kind of gave us that authority. (I'm just assuming he didn't give his authority and decide to revoke it...)
Instead the church has become the "social club" of Christ. It has become about producing good programs to keep families busy and help raise proper acting adults. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to have some more moral citizens, but that's not the point of the church. The church is supposed to be the "body of Christ."
It's about the life of Christ being produced in us. Once it's produced in us it's meant to go out and be planted in the lives of others. When it takes hold in the lives of others, it begins to replicate itself more. It's about living and sharing the Gospel...
If we were truly about what Christ was about, it definitely isn't just about social agendas. It's not about guns or no guns. It's not about homosexuality or heterosexuality. It's not just about pro-choice or pro-life... (although His position on things makes me take certain positions on matters).
The question we need to ask is... Are people becoming new creatures in Christ? Are they becoming characterized by the fruit of the Spirit or the deeds of the flesh? If we were more focused on this, we'd spend more time pulling weeds in the church before we start pointing fingers outside the church.
If we can restore the church, I believe the impact would only go out from the church to start making the difference in the world that Jesus intends for us to make in the first place.
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