THE BURDEN OF CHURCH

As a child I loved going to church. In fact, I would sometimes beat my parents to church on Sunday mornings. I grew up in a small town and lived about 10-12 blocks from church. It was a nice walk and sometimes I would make it when my parents were running behind. There was something about the fellowship. The people were like family and I looked forward to seeing my friends every week. Sunday school was my absolute favorite. I loved discussing the Bible with my friends. My teen Sunday School teacher was amazing. His love and passion for the Word of God was a huge influence on my spiritual development. His passion made me want to know God intimately, and to study His word. Church was a sacred place - a special place where growing in our faith was the priority. I was taught what church should be. The Church universal. The bride of Christ. A place of edification and service. I loved going to church as a child because it was a refuge. Worship was a sacred time where I could be in the presence of God personally and corporately and leave feeling equipped to endure.
I have found over the years that the sanctity of worship in the house of God has diminished. Where church used to be place of refuge for me, a place where I could escape the rigor and ills of my week has become a cacophony of activities and obligations. It has in many ways, for me, become a chore. I find myself feeling bound instead of feeling free.

​When people are going through a trial they need a respite, a sanctuary where they can be in the presence of God with fellow believers that will pray for you and lift them up. The absence of worship and sound Biblical preaching is why young people are missing from our pews. In our churches we meet over and over trying to come up with strategies to bring more people into the church when all we need is to preach Christ and Him crucified and resurrected. Folk are looking for Jesus even if they don’t know it. The church must give Him to them. Lift Him up and He will draw.

I have conversations with people who have been hurt in the church quite often. Their accounts of why they no longer attend church rarely has anything to do with Jesus but everything to do with the people. To be quite frank, church is sometimes a hard sell. Even with all of the challenges I would still rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. We must stay in the fight to ensure that the mission of the church is upheld. We have to keep working and praying and lifting one another up. We have to continue to pray for the presence of the Holy Sprit to have his way in our worship services. There is nothing like the fellowship of believers so let us continue to pray.

My prayer is that we enter into our places of worship for the purpose of worship and equipping. That we set aside the worship service for folk to get what they need while in the presence of God. May we invoke the presence of the Holy Spirit so that the anointing will fall and yokes will be broken. May our praise and worship be so focused and so high and so authentic, that the atmosphere is present for liberation and deliverance from the things that bind us.

As Jesus went to the cross He was was beaten unmercifully only to then extended mercy as He hung between two thieves. To the one who accepted His invitation He promised that he would be with Him in paradise. He extends that same mercy to us, and we ought honor that in our churches every second of every minute of every hour of every day.