What is Church?Jesus didn't have a fancy building. The King James translation uses the word "church" to refer to the whole body of believers. So we know that Church is not a building, but the people. You don't even need a building. Yet the money wasted by 'churches' on fancy buildings is outrageous and ridiculous. Not several miles from me are 6 very similar BIG churches ALL within a mile of each other, with FOUR on opposite corners of an intersection! It's a tragic waste of money as this city literally has hundreds sleeping on the streets or in emergency shelters!!! The church has divided so much that it is no wonder why they are so ineffective and invisible in politics and in this world.
To all of you fancy churches....shame on you. You have lost the vision and goal. No poor person would feel comfortable walking in your fancy church with all your fancy dress. There is one church here in Jacksonville that does credit checks to become a member... This is simply unbelievable and a downright disgrace to the Christians community. Church dress should be simple and casual. Ties are the most worthless invention ever by fashion leaders to make money, and for church leaders to require them is plain idiotic and crossing the line. Many leaders have simply turned church into an opportunity to preach and get paid. Their church is all about the preaching, but not much else goes on, although maybe a missionary is supported so everyone can feel good about themselves. Any leader with fancy cars and multimillion dollar houses should be exposed for the hypocrite they are. A true leader and follower of Jesus would NOT accept large salaries or gifts, and the money would be directed back into the community. Of course, leaders should be taken care of, but to live in million dollar homes while many sleep on the streets is pure selfish and a disgrace to our community. Any preacher driving fancy cars with millions in the bank has lost sight of the goal and his motives are in question. If one really cared about being like Jesus they would keep their life simple and find better ways to spend the money God has gifted them. If I were a Pastor and I had plenty of money, I would build a multipurpose facility where we could meet, teach, hold community events, provide daycare, a soup kitchen and food pantry, and transitional living accommodations for the needy. My home and transportation would be cheap and simple, and I would invest money into the community as fast as it came in.
You don't even need Sunday or Wednesday"church." You can meet and train in homes and then meet Sundays for outreach. Land would be good in order to expand outreach opportunities, but to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a big fancy building simply to meet and get preached at is not only ridiculous but it's plain ignorant. A big fancy building or big salary tells me you don't really know Jesus. If you are going to have a nice facility...USE IT! Host community events, childcare, basketball leagues...the options are endless. Most churches use their building like a castle against the world eyeing all outsiders with distrust or even contempt if they are not dressed "properly." If more money is being spent on anything other than missions then a priority adjustment is definitely in order. If God wants you to have a building, specific donations will come in. If God wants you to have a salary, specific donations will come in. It's our own lack of faith, greed and misconceptions that steals money from God to invest in a building and salary so we can be 'comfortable.' After building maintenance and staff salaries, many churches have no money to do anything else and this is just tragic. If the Church would start managing money properly, we would be able to tackle issues like homelessness, poverty, and hunger. There is a church almost literally near every major corner here in Jacksonville Florida. It blows my mind how we all believe in the same God and the Bible, but we argue and separate over the interpretation of one or two scriptures.
What is the point of church?
Jesus made it clear from example and teaching that church is about outreach through discipleship. Jesus set the example by picking twelve disciples and constantly traveling, teaching, and training them. But the only discipleship in many churches today is received maybe once a week from the pulpit. This is tragic. Most church's today are nothing more than a once a week social club where any tithe given is barely enough to pay the bloated salaries of the leaders and the huge worthless building so fancy the poor are too ashamed to enter. Most 'Christians' have been spending their whole lives in the pew and it's just pathetic! The Church is not about a building or once a week meeting, its about ACTION! When will they outgrow the lessons and actually DO something with their faith?! It is completely tragic how many "churches" don't even have outreach. It's an embarrassment an disgrace how many churches are invisible in their community. The only way to know about most churches is to drive by them. How many churches are actively involved in their community? The only church I see hitting the streets are either Mormons or Latter Day Saints. If your church is not building relationships in your local community then there is something fundamentally wrong and things either need to change or you need to find a REAL church.
Unfortunately, the message of the church today has been radically changed from one of love and "believing in Jesus," to "Repent or go to Hell!" Or "God Hates _______." You fill in the blank. Jesus did mention hell as a deterrent, but the tone of the church today has become so demeaning and self-righteous that many are being pushed away and turned off to the 'good news.' The Bible makes it very clear that God is a God of love. So it blows my mind how anyone can call themselves Christian and preach a message of hate. It's plain ignorant. Why do we not have spiritual leaders condemning these idiots and using their influence to pressure these idiots to cease their stupidity and shame. It only takes a power-point presentation to show these people how dumb and contrary they are. Just because we have freedom of speech, doesn't mean we have to let idiots spout their hate and stupidity publicly. It blows my mind how so many people believe in a book they know nothing about. On the other side of the coin, many churches only preach "feel-good" messages, never on sin or hell. Like the Catholic church which teaches that as long as you attend mass, then 'it's all good.'
Before Jesus left He gave the disciples a mission: to preach the gospel to the world. "Gospel" means good news of the kingdom (Mtt9:45). The good news is that Jesus was the Son of God and that by believing in Jesus we can have eternal life (Jn 6:47;3:16;11:25-27,40-48;12:42-47;Chpt14, etc). And that, although Jesus left, He is coming back. Before He left, He gave us 2 commandments, which were a summary of the first 10 commandments; love God, and love others.
One day, I witnessed a troubling scene in one church where members were made to get up, walk to the front, and drop their offering or tithe in a plate. This is wrong for several reasons. What about those who have nothing to give? They are made to feel ashamed as those around notice, while those walking up front feel a false sense of pride. Just pass a plate around like everyone else. Don't make granny get up just so you can have a parade and make people feel good about themselves and others like crap. How stupid!
Concerning music, it's a shame how many divisions have occurred because of disagreements on music. Any music from the heart directed lovingly towards God will bring Him glory...no matter how bad a singer you are, and no matter what instruments you use.
Everyone has their preference so I can understand a divide there between old generation and new generation Christians, but for those who look down on other churches who use drums and guitars is just ridiculous.
In conclusion, I would love to be part of a good church. The trouble is I can't find one.
Sincerely,
Sean C. Rowe
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