Just so you know, my family and I stopped going to church a while back. Maybe about 8 months ago or so. After I became a believer in my 20's I did all the things a young, married 20-something is supposed to do....I volunteered to work in the nursery, I taught children's church and vacation bible school, we went to sunday school, we took our children to kids clubs one night a week, I helped in the kitchen for "fellowship meals", and weddings, funerals and baby showers, blah blah blah...The point is that we were very good at assimilating ourselves into the church culture, but actually, I don't really think I learned very much other than how to perform. I learned how to dress (and how to dress my children) so that the older church ladies wouldn't give me the head-to-toe-followed-by-a-frown on sunday mornings. I much preferred the head-to-toe-followed-by-a-smile! I got pretty good at showing up on time, and I knew a heck of a lot of churchy songs now, even going so far as to start buying christian music cd's! And I loved it! HA! You thought I was going to say it was awful, didn't you? Well, I did love it. Maybe not all of it, I did find it quite stressful having to learn all the subtle expectations, but I loved God and I was happy to believe I was serving Him.
I think things all started to go downhill for me early one sunday morning about a half-hour before sunday school was set to begin, and I looked around at all the people mingling...empty handed...so I cheerfully announced that I was going to put on a pot of coffee, and headed towards the adjoining kitchen. Everybody looked at me like I suddenly had tentacles growing out of my face. Why did they do that? It was hilarious, and deeply disturbing at the same time. I knew I had touched on something, I had broken some code. Maybe even THE code. I changed something, I challenged something. It was a very tiny and seemingly irrelevant something, but the results were tangible. I blew it off and never gave it another moment's thought, and in fact I never equated that incident as being the beginning of my journey until I sat down to write this blog post this morning...interesting.
Ok, well back to the title of this post. Like I said, I don't go to church anymore, but my best and dearest friend still attends church with her family. You will get to know her...she is my blog-partner here and I intend to tag-team with her. I don't know if she knows that yet or not...I am pretty sure I told her....crap, I better phone her...
Anyway, so my friend goes to church with her family still, (I will let her share her story with you herself) and one recent sunday morning she sends me a text while she is sitting in sunday school. She says that the leadership is asking for input from the congregation on what the definition of the "gospel" is so that they can share it more often. You see, this chuch has a problem. In fact all the churches in this particular confernce have a problem. Their numbers are down. Not good. There are empty spots in the pews, and their growth over-all is stagnant, and after much study they have determined that it is because they are not sharing the gospel properly. I am not making this up, I got right off their website. So "they" have come up with a new plan. The plan is, let's all make it a concerted and deliberate effort to share the "gospel" with a minimum of one non-believer per month. Yes We Can!
And that's pretty much where they hit their next wall. "Ummm, sir? Yeah, um, I was just wondering.....what exactly is the gospel that we are supposed to be sharing? I mean, what exactly is it you want us to tell people?"
It's OK! They came up with a solution to that problem. Last sunday morning, while my friend was sitting in sunday school, they presented the solution. They are essentially going to vote (I guess). I believe they called it "asking for input", but this is essentially what they did....they presented two definitions of the "gospel", and want input on which version would be better. I think that's what my next post will be. Exactly what are the two versions that were presented. Until then, I will leave you with this...
"I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of the Messiah unto another gospel: Which is not yet another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of the Messiah. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed." - Galatians 1:6-9
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