"I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked man from among you.' "
"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
"Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you- although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, (co-heirs with Christ, those who love one another and sacrifice for each other) each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to."
"I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name."
"May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
I am contemplating leaving 'the church'. Again. Last year I spent six continuous months outside of the Sunday morning walls. It radically changed my life and my faith. For the better. Ever since that experience I have often wondered, "What would it be like to leave behind the 'Christian service'?" Did I leave because I was discontent? No. I left because God led me out, showing me the religious services practiced from another part of the world. It was vaguely familiar and quite similar to my Sunday morning experiences growing up. Yet when I returned to Christian services afterward, I haven't felt comfortable. Something has been off. Even when sitting next to the people I love and call brothers and sisters in Christ. Something hasn't been right.
So what went wrong? It's not the music or the preaching. It's not the building. It's an attitude within those ideas. A subconscious acquiesce to the status quo. To misquote a movie I recently watched, "Would you want to know if everything we've experienced, everything that has unified us, is a lie? Would you really want to know?" I'm not talking about unity in Christ. I'm not talking about his death, burial and resurrection.That isn't a lie. But as I read the above Scriptures, something is not right with who they say we are supposed to be and who we actually are. When was the last time we confronted our brothers and sisters about the sin in our lives? When was the last time we spoke ill of someone outside of the church and outside of Christ? We have a problem. We confront those who aren't in a relationship with us and we let those close to us slide away because we don't want to risk the relationship. This is not who Jesus showed us how to live. And yes, I mean who. Somewhere between our day to day living, we forget who we are, and get life backwards.
Instead of living in loving confrontational unity with those around us, we live in non-confrontation. Unless we can speak ill of someone who is not present and able to defend themselves. In which case we say all the slanderous things we can about that person. Focusing on their flaws, not focusing on the broken parts of their lives. The love of Christ sees brokenness and does not condemn it. It seeks to heal it and make it whole. The judgment of Christ is reserved for those who claim to be whole, but spend their lives breaking others. We can be breakers or healers. Jesus is a healer. Healing is a discipline.
One thing I've learned about my body through fitness, it has a tendency towards brokenness. I'm still working on injuries accumulated from the past. Like my shoulder, hip and foot. Some days I feel whole, but as I exercise my body, I know at some point I'll need to spend time re-aligning and re-habilitating my those joints and muscles. Some past injuries have been completely healed. And I'm sure that when I've finally worked all the brokenness out of my current unhealed injuries I'll have others to work on. Healing is a continual process. Unless I stop living. Even if I were to stop exercising and feeling the tightness in those areas, my body still wouldn't be whole. It just wouldn't hurt. I'm not okay with covering up the pain. I embrace it and use it to remind me that even though my body may not be 100% right, I can still do amazing and incredible things with it. This is the life Jesus calls us to live.
But wouldn't this life mean staying in the 'Christian service'? Could I not interpret the above verses to say I must stay within the Sunday walls? I could, but I would be denying the mission of Christ: to make disciples of all peoples, languages, cultures and social groups. This mission is more important, and I believe I've been prepared, rather unwittingly, to live it. Man does not live on sermons alone, but on every word from the living God.
So if I'm not in church on Sunday morning, then where am I going to be? Good question. I haven't figured that one out yet. Obviously the command is 'go' and the where is 'where you are' and the how is 'how you are' and by what power is 'by the power of Christ's love', but that's all general and not quite specific.
Recently I've been reading about ultra-marathon runners and triathlon competitors. There's something about their disciple and the questions they ask in pursuit of their goals that cries out to me. I'm no where near being close to an ultra-marathoner or triathlete. I'm fit, but not that kind of fit. But if I were to pursue them, as they are more than likely training on Sunday morning, I have to be where they are. Which isn't too hard to find. Just look for people running and cycling along the road, or off the road. Keeping up with them is another question entirely.
But that may be too specialized. I still have my current work. Which I believe is in need of long winded endurance. I've observed too many people starting out strong only to falter and fail within a year's time. They don't have what they need to run the race. In short, I believe all they hear is the condemnation, not the co-operation that comes from being one with the body of Christ. The questions they ask themselves and the answers they find do not give them the strength they need to continue.
My conclusion in all of this is simple. The church building is not the body of Christ. The people are. The Christian service is not the hands and feet of Jesus, the Christ followers out in the streets are. And some of the people who need to hear the love of Christ just might be running and cycling and sweating on Sunday mornings. Which honestly sounds like whole-hearted worship to my body.
Might I have this picture wrong? I wouldn't rule it out. But I know that the current status quo in many churches is not spreading the news of Christ's love to the people who need to hear it and see it lived out. It's also not reaching the people who are training and asking themselves, "Why?" every time they run. It's also not reaching the businesses who claim to be in service to God, but can't keep themselves from bleeding out. Is it possible that leaving the church is the only way to reach these groups of people and fulfill the mission of Christ?
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