So here goes. An insight into me, what makes me tick and how I truly feel about this great Guy called God. It's not your typical career advice that I normally give, but it gives you an insight into me a little more. Yesterday, I read the amazingly brilliant book by pollster John Zogby called The Way We'll Be. I found this book very interesting on many different levels, but one passage that stood out really stuck with me and is right on. (I could write for days about what this book has inside. Read it. Now.)
"The church of the future will be a bungalow on Maple Street, not a mega structure in a sea of parking spaces. It's intimacy of experience people long for, not production values" (p.215)
I love God. We talk, we hang and I love His Son Jesus. Good guy, regardless if you believe in Him or not. He came, He led, He died & He left. He'll be back. I am a Christian man and I'm proud to say so.
But here's the thing. I don't do church. I dislike them. I don't hate them, but I find Zogby's statement profound in that to this day, I have yet to find a place that really harnesses and embraces everything I believe in. Truly. Honestly.
On Sunday mornings, I am blessed to get together with a very small and intimate group of followers that know who I am (or are learning more about me each time.) We simply ask for what each other needs us to pray about and then together we work through a passage or chapter of the Bible. I get more out of this simple, no-structure hour with people I know and trust that I ever did at any church, large of small.
Now, I have to be absolutely honest here. I did attend a mega-church for some time and really did enjoy the music, the lights, the message, the production value. I felt like I was worshiping here. Not to discredit this institution, or the members within it, but I personally feel like I was more interested in going there because of the production value than God Himself. Some people need that to stay tuned for their one hour per week, but that in of itself is one of the fundamental problems of the Christian Faith today. This limitation to one hour per week.
Remember that group I hang with on Sunday morning? It's not just Sunday. We are invested in each other's lives. A majority of the "guys" in this group are getting together this weekend to go on a retreat. I talk to most of them more than once a week. I play ball with them. I live with them. I am experiencing life with them. I am becoming closer to God with them.
So here's what I want out of a "church." Community, acceptance, support and love, but most important, I want to grow in relation to God so I can incorporate Him into my everyday life. Notice I said everyday. I truly mean that. God is amazing and I personally feel Him more each day as I talk with Him. I find that is the true meaning of the actions of "church." That's how I worship. Each day, every day, with who I am and what I do.
So there's a little insight into me. Zogby is on to something here. I encourage you to read the rest of his book. His insight into the American future is interesting, but I personally feel right on target into the societal implications present in today's society. Read it. It's a keeper.
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