Church

Confused about my life and its agenda brought me to a place of contemplating, contemplating brought me to one conclusion that I just couldn't shake, was I doing the right thing? I mean, I went to church almost every Sunday and most Wednesday nights, but I really wasn’t getting much out of it. I learned so much more by spending time at home in the written word. I found myself learning things that no pastor had ever taught before. But faithfully I went. I got all dressed up, smelled really good, stayed through the entire service, but usually walked away empty. So I started asking God a lot of questions.

Why wasn’t I happy? Were my main goals different from the people of the church? Was I headed in the right direction for accomplishing what I was birthed to do? I knew I was a good person, but the important thing to me was whether or not God found me to be a good person. And I always believed that if I didn't go to church, more than likely he wouldn't. So, I felt trapped.

I spent most of my life looking for the perfect church. We would visit one, which seemed nice, meet a bunch of good folk, and stay for a few weeks, only to find a fault with it and move on. But when we found a church that inspired us to come, we believed we found our church-home. We participated for eight years, spending so much time at many of their functions, but after awhile, even they began to become chore-like. So we ended up leaving them as well.

Then we found another church that seemed to be full of love. We spent three long years entering their doors, involving ourselves in their services, and even joined in many of the events. But just like before, we ended up leaving them as well. The questions began again. This time they were geared toward the church. Why was it so difficult for us to stay active in a church? Were we losing something? Or was the church losing something?

I thought about this a lot and the one conclusion came back: We can enter through church doors, stand at the altar and cry many tears, perhaps lay our hands on others and even sing till our hearts are genuinely rejoicing, but none of this makes us a Christian. Just as this holds true, entering the doors to a church building does not make us members of the church either. The building we worship in isn’t the church. We, the people who worship, are!

Then I heard God say; "Consolidate your assets.” I knew what he meant right away. He wanted me to put together everything we had been discussing so that when I ran into this roadblock again, I would know right where to look for the answer. Just like before with the book, “Arise, O Sleeper,” God gave me insight that would help others who were experiencing this same thing. So the assembling of pages began, the outcome is "Church?".

God's blessing goes forth accomplishing the very purpose for which he sent it; the building up of his 'Church'. Many good men and women have allowed God to use them out of unselfish gain. I too, have felt God's power run through me when I have submitted to God for the sake of others. It is here that I truly believe God's 'Church' is manifested and I believe many of you agree with me, that being the 'Body of Christ' is a far greater award than having a title or position inside a building that men enter into debt to build.

On the other end of the spectrum, I have watched many people misuse the gifts God gave them for the sake of building them up in hopes of reaching wealth, or gaining that title. Once they reach their goal they tend to use their position as a form of control over others. And out of ignorance many of us allow it to take place. It was never God's intent for the 'Body of Christ' to manifest in such a way. No, we were meant to love one another as Christ himself loves the church.

We cannot afford to come to God with the hopes of making ourselves rich and famous. We should never approach his Holy throne with the desire or intent of making a name for ourselves. We are the 'Church of God' and each one of us is as important as the next.
God created us as visionaries, children who can see what God sees, and desire what God desires. It is our duty to aspire to be more Christ like, to be Holy as he is Holy.

When we spend ourselves on behalf of the weary, we are operating under God's best. It is here that the 'Church of God' functions as a whole. We can be the 'Church' whether we enter the doors to a church building or to a grocery store. God never stops working, and he requires that we don't either.
Use your hands to bless someone no matter where you are or what day it is. Forget the rule, that Sundays and Wednesdays are church days. Every day is 'Church' day!

I'm not suggesting that you stop going into a church building to worship, nor do I agree that every church building is for God. But I will say this, if you genuinely seek God's face, he'll lead you toward the place he would have you go, even if it's for a few short weeks. God might need you to minister to someone there, or perhaps he will answer one of your most recent questions. Either way, the 'Church' operates under God's head, trust that he knows what he is doing.