The Club or the Church

I can honestly say that I love the body of Christ. I have made decisions in my life that are heavily swayed by my love for the church. I am concerned that those of us that love the church can be loving the club more.

The body of Christ is the church. The church is the bride of Christ. The church is filled with those that will inherit the Kingdom of God. The church is made up of regenerate hearts. The bride of Christ is beautiful because it is a collection of followers of Christ. It is beautiful because the bride of Christ has no one that is not a sold out follower of Christ. The church is disciples that make more disciples. Only those that love God above all other things are in the body.

One might say, AMEN. Others might say that we have some that are that way in our church, but most only fit a few of those descriptions. I will say that either you are regenerate or you are not. If you are not sold out for Christ then you are not a part of the church. Oh, there may be those that claim to be a member of a group of people that say they are on a roll of a church, but they are not necessarily a part of the bride of Christ.

A professor at a Christian college asked students in his class to raise their hands if they were Christians. All that were in the class raised their hands and he then asked for those that were disciples of Christ to raise their hands. There were few hands that went up timidly.

Some may consider being a Christian means that I am justified by Christ. Meaning that because I have called on Christ I have received my ticket to heaven. Some may think that to be a disciple means that if I am ever called to ministry then I am a disciple. All Christians, people that are Christ like, are called to ministry. The word Christian is only used twice in the Bible and it is used in a negative context. The people of God are called disciples in the Bible.

Who do we consider to be a part of the church body?
Is everyone in our church sold out for Christ?
Are the leaders in our churches disciples that make more disciples?
Is everything we do in the church done so to make disciples?

Because I love people I want everyone to be in the church and I wish for no one to leave the church. Nothing breaks my heart more than when someone finds the excuse to leave a body of believers and to simply do life their way. But am I loving the church to death?

I would argue that we are killing the church by being more concerned about keeping all of those in the body that are not regenerate. Leaders are killing the church by allowing the body to have a foundation on entertaining the lost in the pews. Leaders are loving the church to death.

Now I know with all my heart that the church wins. My hope is in Jesus Christ returning for His church. He is not returning for the lost in the pews or the non-regenerate people. If that is the case then why are we so consumed with holding on to the lost and being influenced by the non-regenerate that consider themselves a part of the body?

I believe leaders have actually created clubs all over the world that we call churches. I believe that we have a generation of pastors that want to bring the body back to making disciples. I believe that we need men leading the body in that direction at the cost of losing many members of the club. What is a man saying to Christ when he sacrifices discipling the flock for the sake of keeping the money or lost in the church?

God will be my judge and not man. I need to be willing to sacrifice my income, my family, my friends, and my self for the bride of Christ. That means that I must lead Mountain Creek Baptist away from the man made, worldly acts in the church and point them to scripture and making disciples. If I am loving the church to life then I will do so.

It is sad to say that this is not the popular thing to do when leading a church. Many club members will leave the church, but followers of Christ, members of the body of Christ, will rise up and make disciples for the Kingdom of God.

Paul told Timothy that everyone had forsaken him in Rome except for Luke. Jesus had all the apostles forsake Him when He was taken by the guards. Jesus even had God the Father forsake Him on the cross because of our sins that He took on Himself. What should you expect to happen if you imitate Jesus and Paul?

Pastors and leaders I want to encourage you to not be caught up in doing what is loved by the world to the extent that you sacrifice the bride that needs to carry out the great commission. Sacrifice the club for the bride. Trust God more. Jesus promises that He is with us.

I Think I Am in Love

My wife and I have been married 21 years the 15th of September. We have been together since 7th grade. We did take a little 2 year break for freshman and sophomore years of high school. The amazing thing about it all is that we have been together most all of our lives. I am 40 years old and I will not disclose the age of my wife, but I am one month younger than her. We have not known each other for 11 years of our lives. This is amazing to me.

The reason these stats are so amazing to me is because I am more in love with my wife than I ever have been in the 28 years that I have known her. The things that we have been through are incredible and all of the experiences have drawn us closer together. The tough times have been hard and sometimes we even entertained not staying together. We even still get into arguments. I always win, because I always admit that it is my fault.

When I say that I am in love with my wife, I mean that I long to be with her and I miss her after a few hours. We can spend days and weeks apart and we got good practice while I was in the Army. We were married for a year before we ever lived together due to Desert Shield and Desert Storm. But it is astonishing how my love for her continues to grow. I want more time with my wife. I want to talk to her more. I want to experience more of life with her.

I think I am in love.

When I was eight years old I prayed and committed my life to Jesus Christ. I admitted to Him that I was a sinner and that I needed Him in order to have a relationship with God. One can say that I have known God longer than I have not known God. I have been in a relationship with God for 32 years and I am more in love with God than I have ever been in my life. It is amazing to me.

The things that I have experienced with God are incredible and the experiences have drawn me closer to Him. The tough times have been hard and I have even gotten away from Him and ignored Him for long periods of time. I even still sin today. I always win though because I always admit that I am a sinner and He forgives me.

When I say that I love God I mean that I long to see Him and I miss Him when I walk away from Him and do not hear His voice. I have spent days and months away from Him and it astonishes me how He never stops loving me. I want more time with Him. I want to talk to Him more. I want to experience more of life with Him.

I know I am in love.

I know He loves me.
John 3:16