The Core
Is my church better than yours?
What a question. We are human after all are we not. I wonder how many so-called Christians hold pride in their hearts for their church. Again, we are only human. My pastor is the best, he is on fire, filled with the Holy Spirit, have you ever heard someone say this? Oh, our church has the best kids programs, an awesome worship band and so on?
The better question is, has church become a social event?
So many churches now have coffee stands built into the foyer, some offer up doughnuts. Worship services have become a Sunday morning concert. In my profession, teaching, I have come to recognize a truth. That truth is this, "If I cannot teach my subject inside a bamboo classroom, using nothing more than a piece of slate and chalk then I don't need to be teaching." What I mean by this is that there is a tremendous amount of technology at my disposal. None of which will make me a better teacher. My core is my teaching skills. If my core is correct, then I am already a good teacher and technology only accents what I already have. Likewise, coffee, doughnuts, great programs, professional music, and so on accents what should be a God filled, God focused, God led core.
Matt Redman wrote, "I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about you, Jesus." and When the music fades, and all is stripped away, and I simply come, longing just to bring something that is of worth that will bless your heart." These are the lyrics to the song, The Heart of Worship. The song dates back to the 1990s when Matt's church was struggling with apathy in worship. The pastor saw that people were worshiping the music, singing robotically, trained to perform, so he unplugged the sound system. They went Puritan. They went to the core, their bamboo classroom. The pastor stated, "We'd lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away." The pastor asked, "When you come through the doors on Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God." How many of us seek out churches that fill our needs as opposed to asking, what are we bringing into the church, what is our offering?
God isn't losing the battle, we are. We've allowed ourselves to be influenced by the world. Our core is clogged with thousands of books telling us how to be more godly, more spiritual, more prayerful. We gauge our churches not based upon the if they are doing Kingdom work but rather if they are a good fit for us, based upon our needs. Pastors bend and twist to fit society rather than allowing themselves to be shaped by God and His spirit. We are losing the battle because of human desire, the very thing that got us into trouble to being with. No, my church isn't better than yours, just different. We need to strip away the humanism, the manmade doctrine and get back to the heart, the core of worship.
When we can sing together, pray together, and take communion together without worry as to slight doctrinal differences and procedures, then we will be strong and begin to push the enemy back.
What a question. We are human after all are we not. I wonder how many so-called Christians hold pride in their hearts for their church. Again, we are only human. My pastor is the best, he is on fire, filled with the Holy Spirit, have you ever heard someone say this? Oh, our church has the best kids programs, an awesome worship band and so on?
The better question is, has church become a social event?
So many churches now have coffee stands built into the foyer, some offer up doughnuts. Worship services have become a Sunday morning concert. In my profession, teaching, I have come to recognize a truth. That truth is this, "If I cannot teach my subject inside a bamboo classroom, using nothing more than a piece of slate and chalk then I don't need to be teaching." What I mean by this is that there is a tremendous amount of technology at my disposal. None of which will make me a better teacher. My core is my teaching skills. If my core is correct, then I am already a good teacher and technology only accents what I already have. Likewise, coffee, doughnuts, great programs, professional music, and so on accents what should be a God filled, God focused, God led core.
Matt Redman wrote, "I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about you, Jesus." and When the music fades, and all is stripped away, and I simply come, longing just to bring something that is of worth that will bless your heart." These are the lyrics to the song, The Heart of Worship. The song dates back to the 1990s when Matt's church was struggling with apathy in worship. The pastor saw that people were worshiping the music, singing robotically, trained to perform, so he unplugged the sound system. They went Puritan. They went to the core, their bamboo classroom. The pastor stated, "We'd lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away." The pastor asked, "When you come through the doors on Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God." How many of us seek out churches that fill our needs as opposed to asking, what are we bringing into the church, what is our offering?
God isn't losing the battle, we are. We've allowed ourselves to be influenced by the world. Our core is clogged with thousands of books telling us how to be more godly, more spiritual, more prayerful. We gauge our churches not based upon the if they are doing Kingdom work but rather if they are a good fit for us, based upon our needs. Pastors bend and twist to fit society rather than allowing themselves to be shaped by God and His spirit. We are losing the battle because of human desire, the very thing that got us into trouble to being with. No, my church isn't better than yours, just different. We need to strip away the humanism, the manmade doctrine and get back to the heart, the core of worship.
When we can sing together, pray together, and take communion together without worry as to slight doctrinal differences and procedures, then we will be strong and begin to push the enemy back.
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