I've had a few requests lately to start blogging again so I decided that I would respond to the overwhelming demand for my words and oblige my fans with a renewed attempt to share my thoughts in blog form. I want to thank my mom, my daughter and my step-sister for providing that overwhelming demand. So to my audience of three I now write.....
I was reading another blog post today from a pastor in America who was talking about Anne Rice's recent decision to "quit Christianity". Being on the far side of the world I haven't had a lot of opportunity to follow this development but I really liked what he had to say and it really inspired some thoughts of my own.
Why do I love the church? Why am I committed to remaining a part of what is often portrayed, (unfortunately, sometimes deservedly), as a bigoted, hateful, back-biting, hypocritical organization? Libraries could be filled with books on the failures of the church. Why after 2000 years is it still such a flawed institution and why would anyone want to be a part of it?
As I read Anne Rice's explanation for quitting on this thing called Christianity I at first felt sympathetic and wanted to shout my agreement! But then I began to think about what she was saying and I realized that even though she says this has been a long process and she has tried to accept it, she really has taken a very narrow look at Christianity and the church.
Unfortunately, there are those who have politicized the churches message to the detriment of the true gospel. I would say they have been exploited by politicians who know how to push the right buttons to "turn out the vote". I'll save my commentary on that for another post. I just want to say here that the political Christianity has taken front and center in America and has become the face of the church. Unfortunately, when that happens we cut off the ears of half the people in the nation who don't agree with our politics. More on that another time!
But that is such a skewed view of Christianity. If Ms. Rice had chosen to look at the whole picture she would see something very different. Today, around the globe there are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Christians serving in foreign lands trying to bring hope to hopeless people. No other non-government organization in the world does as much to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick and love the unlovable. And if we want to narrow it down to America, consider this: Who runs the majority of homeless shelters, food pantries and other help centers across the country? It's those crazy Christians.
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans the institutional church that I belong to was on the ground with help before the wind quit blowing! When the twin towers fell on 9/11 institutional church members from across America sent help by way of manpower and finances. It would be silly to try to document all that the church does, the evidence is obvious for anyone who cares to look for it.
So Christian, and institutional church member, don't hang your head in embarrassment! The church is an awesome, living organism, that is having a positive impact on the world every day! Just make it your heart's desire to part of the good things the church is doing and maybe we can quietly draw the attention away from the "God hates fags" crowd.
But that's not the real reason I love the church and refuse to quit on her. The real reason is the HEAD! I love the head. The body may be flawed and even ugly, but wow, the head is beautiful! The head gave His life for that same flawed body. He saw all of her weakness and flaws and he still loved her enough to give His very life for her redemption.
So before you go giving up on Christianity or the church, make sure you're looking at the whole picture!
