I Don't Like Church

Ya.  I said it.

I don't like church.

I don't like the kind of people that "go" to church.
I don't like listening to (and watching other people idolize) pastors, and preachers, and evangelist....  especially the ones that have their own TV show.

No worries... I'm not hell bound-  I'm a born-again, Jesus loving- Holy Spirit filled Christian.
I wonder if we can find a new name for ourselves?

I don't like "Christians", either.....

 Truth be told- the above 'facts' are not whole.
It's overall, but not completely true.

Matter-of-Fact.... most of my close friends are Christians.  And they go to church....
Wait. A. Minute?!   I go to church!!!!  

Oh dear, me.  I don't like myself!!!

Generally speaking- what I mean to say is... OK.... it's hard to explain, but.......

Church people are just SUCKY!  

To the outside world, to the general public, we are just:

 back-stabbing, morbidly judgmental, gossiping hypocrites.

We do a lotta talking' about "the love of Christ", but show VERY LITTLE love.
We do a whole-lotta actin', because we seem to carry a mindset that we need to be perfect, so we tend to act perfect... and dude... if it was possible to be perfect, really?... would God have sent Jesus to die?  UmmmmNO!

So? In acting all perfect, we're basically liars.  

And folks that don't know or wanna know Jesus... they SHO' don't wanna be gettin' any advice or information from a LIAR.

Let me break it down- I'm probably wrong here, but I'll use myself as an example. 

 (Lot o folk are gonna get offended.  Sorry in advance for the offense.  Not sorry for the facts, though).

Scenario A: 

At home with my husband.  We invite a few friends over.  Our friends are casual drinkers. 

(Glass of wine here, a beer or two there...whatever... etc. etc. etc.)

We got no problem throwing back a couple o' buds with them.  

No guilt.  No convictions.  No hail Mary's or salt to the back throwing in the morning.

Scenario B: 

At home with my husband. We invite a few friends over.  Our friends do NOT drink.  

We ain't buyin' no wine to serve with dinner.....   

Are we hypocrites?  

Nahhhhh............

Are we respectful to the comfort levels of other people?

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

A long time ago- I had a mindset that we should NOT drink at ALL if we were gonna be "Christian" folk.  

(I wasn't carrying my own convictions- I was using somebody else's say so)

"So and so says that drinking- AT ALL- is totally and completely WRONG and sinful......"

(After a bit of growing up, I came to realize that "so and so" wasn't my Savior, and "so and so" didn't know my heart, and "so and so" was just being religious in the fact that "so and so" had those personal convictions themselves, thus pushing those among their peers and fellow 'church goin friends'.)

Moving on.

I've discovered that what is "OK" for the goose may/may not be OK for the other goose.  

It's a matter of personal conviction.

My basic understanding (and if you're reading this and you don't have a personal intimate relationship with Jesus- DO NOT quote me or go by 'my' theology.  This is JUST ME thinking/writing out loud.... ) is that when the BIBLE is unclear one MUST use personal convictions to guide them.

 (Example- it's VERY CLEAR that we shouldn't be doin' the groove-thang before we're married....
 the groove-thang BEFORE marriage is a sin.  It's wrong.
 It will NEVER matter what you're convictions are- the Bible is clear... No groove-thang before marriage).

Some things are unclear:     Beer with a bud.  Wine with the wife.  Big unclarification.

Some things are clear:         No nookie with anyone else if you're ALREADY married.....

Some things are unclear:     Tattoos and Piercings- yay or nay?

Something are clear:            Killing someone- no can do- not allowed....bad-bad-bad

Somethings are unclear:        Secular music: (Bob Dylan? Nickelback? Yes? No? What?!?!)

Somethings are clear:           Liar Liar pants of fire.  Lying is wrong.  It's a sin. 

(Have I mentioned I am NOT a theologian?)

And I'll get to my point before I dig myself into a LAYMAN's hole of unknowledge-able things.

Christians have GOT to stop throwing out their judgment calls on other people!

We have GOT to quit pretending like we're perfect.

We have GOT to lay out a ground of love, and empathy for everyone around us.

Furthermore- we need to quit 'idolizing' our pastors, and worship leaders, and comparing ourselves to those around us that are 'HOLIER' than we are. (They aren't!)

Newsflash folks: All those people are MESSED up too!

Seriously!

They just can't let you in on all of their messed-up-ed-ness... cause if they did... YOU WOULD judge them.

Anywho.

I'm almost over my 'don't like church' thing now.

I don't go to a perfect church.
Even if I did, I wouldn't know it.
I have a mindset that NOBODY is perfect- and nobody's gonna change that.

I look at the pastor-dude that preaches and think nothing more of him other than the fact that he's

just an obedient messenger- willing to put himself out there in an effort to deliver the Word.

He's putting himself in the front line of the battle field- so he gets total respect- but no reverence.
None of this  "Oh perfect pastor of perfection- bestow upon me your ultimate perfectionism that I may be perfect like you......"
Thankfully- the Lord let me know a LONG time ago that I shouldn't look to anyone in search of perfection.

Because of that- when a dude falls- it totally removes the anger and disappointment that could have been there, and in it's place- there's love, and compassion, and empathy.
Cause we've all fallen.  All of us.

I hope that all of us "Christian Folk" can change the perception of the world, one by one, and prove ourselves to be NOTHING more than sinners that took the offering of salvation through Jesus' blood.

We aren't better.  We aren't perfect.
 .