Too Comfortable?
One of my struggles with the notion of “church” in America is how “safe” our version of the Christian faith really is. Because we live in a country that gives us the freedom to worship any way we choose, we can go to church “safely”, knowing we will not be persecuted for walking into the front door of our churches, whether urban, suburban, or rural or anywhere in between. Believe me, I appreciate the comfort that comes with being able to worship freely here.
Yet does that comfort allow us to make greater issues of how we “do” church rather than whether we are reaching those who don’t know Christ?
Whereas Christians in China need to meet secretly just to worship, we argue over whether we prefer organ music or a praise band, or we argue whether something is being done the “Baptist” way or “Presbyterian” way or (insert your denomination) way. Does our “comfort” in being able to choose the way we worship ultimately give us too much time to focus on items of relative unimportance compared to the struggles that our brethren face elsewhere outside our borders?
Don’t get me wrong, we must discuss these things, prayerfully, in order that we discern how God would have us best minister to our local communities. But so often we miss the forest for the trees - we forget why we exist and not think about who we exist for and our (com)mission. We cling to and entrench ourselves in positions that provide us the greatest level of comfort in our churches.
We need to be willing to be placed in positions of discomfort in our Christian lives, both inside and outside the church - for that is how we will continue to grow in faith.
4 Responses to “Too Comfortable?”
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By Cindy, July 23, 2007 @ 1:01 pm
yes.
By Peter Burch, July 23, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
for years i have addressed this topic in meetings with one simple statement: “OK, why don’t we all talk about the time we shared the gospel last week”.
silence.
By Andy, July 24, 2007 @ 5:28 am
Cindy - we need to be dangerous for Christ!
Peter - Yep.
By Dustin, July 24, 2007 @ 12:42 pm
Is it any wonder that the Church has thrived in times and places where persecution was high? Maybe our “freedom” is the biggest threat to our vitality of faith.