So I started reading this book this week on discipleship, and it has definitely got my head spinning with several issues. The biggest issue that has been brought to my attention is the idea of the church culture. Why does that issue raise so much anxiety in heart?
I feel, and have seen, over the past 10 years of my life, that Christians have created an entire culture, a bubble so to speak, that hinders any contact with non-believer/the rest of the world. Is that bad? Not entirely. I definitely think that a strong community of believers is important to the spiritual growth of any believer. But it is devastating when there is no outlet for one to share their faith. I am walking a thin line by writing this because sharing my faith has been a big struggle for me my whole life, especially in college when all my activities outside of class revolved around a church or Christian organizations.
I say all that to say this. Are we hindering non-believers from knowing/experiencing Jesus Christ because they first have to conform to a culture created by Christians and the Church? Are people uncomfortable with taking the first step in coming to church because they feel they need to dress/act/speak/appear a certain way? Must they jump through flaming hoops before they are able to see Jesus for who He really is?
I wonder how the spiritual temperature of the Church would change if people were able to be transformed by the saving grace of Christ, rather than first being converted to this fake culture, a facade, put on by Christians as a whole.
All this may sound harsh, and I am no one to criticize the Christian culture, which I've been apart of my entire life. But being involved in a church plant, it has been a challenge to take myself out of that thought process, out of that bubble, and see the issues some people have with the current church and try to overcome those issues to reach people for Jesus. Looking from the inside of the Christian bubble it is real easy to see the problems and shortcomings of the world. But it's not easy to see what's wrong with yourself. I think to understand how to reach people we have to first understand why we are not reaching people. Minimizing the noise between the gospel and people would minimize the confusion of the outside view of the Christian world, allowing the gospel to speak more directly to the hearts who need the good news more than a makeover.
River Hills Church wants to be a church with a culture that brings Truth and people together, that brings Jesus and people together with as little noise in between as possible. We are simply human, we make mistakes and have a distorted view of life and the world, but it's all about the journey, it's about reaching and striving to know and live like Jesus.
