Artificial Christianity

Seven months ago I wrote a blog entry titled "House of Blues."  To fully understand this post I recommend that you skim that post.  "House of Blues" detailed ongoing frustrations I was having dealing with my job and how it fit into my life.  Shortly after that post my employer created a supervisory position that, if I landed , would be a promotion.  Knowing this, I applied for the position.  I was overjoyed to find out that I was the only internal candidate.  I put my best foot forward. I was more driven than I had been in years.  As I interviewed with management and employee panels, I was told by various people that I had made some good impressions and that it looked as though the promotion was imminent.  Given the positive feedback I nearly jumped out of my shoes when my new prospective boss called me on a day off; but I sank even faster when she told me that I did not get the job.  She went on to explain her thought process, but I didn't hear anything she was saying.  I ended the conversation as dejected professionally as I've ever been.  What made the outlook worse was that I learned of my rejection on December 21 which meant that I would be spending another January in my current position; working 12-15  hour days in a job I hated.

Attempting to avoid the spiritual slide that all too often follows disappointment in my life I turned to church.  At no point in my life has the difference between church and Christianity been more evident.  I listened to gospel songs that told me to "speak miracles into my life."  I heard preaching that offered entertainment, but no balm for my wounded soul.  I was almost enraged at the empty promises and ungodly prophecies being spouted.  I was angered at the false hope being given and the absolute disregard for scripture.  Hebrews 2:10 tells us that God saw it fitting that Christ be made the PERFECT captain of our salvation through suffering.  If God sees it fitting to put Christ through suffering for His purpose, why are there so many songs and sermons dismissing our suffering; or making light of them.

In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul says that he delights in his weakness, persecutions and distress.  He doesn't say he speaks to them.  He doesn't say that he dismisses them.  He delights in them because he understands that through these weaknesses, infirmities, persecutions and distress; through him being an imperfect vessel God can put His perfecting power on display.  Don't misread Paul's statement.  These trying times don't cease to exist.  They don't become fun or happy times.  God posses the power to turn our sadness into joy, but for us to attempt to do that is only an attempt to delude ourselves.

Eventually I began to slide into the spiritual funk I attempted to avoid.  I once again felt hopeless and worthless.  Put simply, I was broken.

One night I sat in my living room reading a comic book.  While I was reading my wife was watching a BET gospel awards show.  Again my ears were bombarded with artists beckoning me to speak my miracle into my life.  With my book in hand I ignored the show until Tamala Mann hit the stage with her song "Take me to the King"

I had heard this song enough to have each work memorized, but at this moment each word had meaning.  I was broken.  I was in pieces and I had been trying so hard to fix me.  I was trying so hard to hold myself together and it was not working.  Even after she finished singing her words echoed in my head.  "My heart is torn to pieces...it's my offering".  The words of her song combined in my heart with the words of Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God thou wilt not despise.  Immediately I began to pray.  Instead of trying to fix me I simply offered God the pieces.  I asked Him to do with those pieces what he saw fit to do.  At that moment I felt different.  For the first time in years I felt whole.  I couldn't wait until the morning to talk to my wife and my friends and everyone who had been praying along with me for years.  I had no idea what the future held, but I felt ready for it.

A few weeks after giving God my broken pieces I landed a new job that I am very excited about.  I pray earnestly that I will remember what God has bought me from; and keep perspective.  I also pray that if I do again find myself broken; that I don't hesitate to surrender the pieces.

When the body is not the Body

Disenfranchised.  After a long and thoughtful pause, that was the one word answer a friend gave me when I asked her to describe where she was in her spiritual walk.  She felt deprived of power; marginalized.  How could this be?  This was an active church member.  She sang in the choir, rarely missed a service, donated what her church required her to donate, and had even invited me an my family to visit her church when I I told her about a church visit that had not gone so well.  For a brief period in time she wore her "church mask"; smiling and spouting Christian Cliches whenever speaking of anything dealing with God.  That day however, the burden of the mask coupled with the burdens of life became too heavy to bear and she dropped the mask...

   Follow me as I follow Christ.  This much quoted one liner is how Paul begins 1 Corinthians 11.  As a one liner, this verse is dangerous.  As a Spiritual leader, this one liner would seem to imply that Paul is calling for absolute allegiance to him in the way that he is following God.  It would seem that Paul is establishing himself as a mediator between man and Christ in delivering that one line.  The misinterpretation comes into play in thinking that Paul is delivering a one liner.

Paul's message is not to follow him.  Paul had passed on that type of attention before.  In 1 Corinthians 3:1-7 Paul shuns this type of attention, beckoning the Corinthians to understand that they are not divided by ministers but united in Christ.  Why would Paul, later in this letter, advocate the division he spoke about earlier?  If Paul is making the claim that the people should pledge themselves to him then it would be acceptable for Peter, Apollos and other individuals to claim the same.  If that were the case then you would have no unified Body in Christ but individual bodies in line with their given minister.

Remember that Paul says that the Corinthians are carnal and is disappointed that he can not feed them with meat, but milk (1 Corinthians 3:2-3).  Now look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:3.  Paul says that the head of every man is Christ.  Notice the oft missed point here.  Paul doesn't say that the head of man is another man.  Paul doesn't say the head of some men is Christ.  Paul says the head of every man is Christ.  What Paul is trying to show the Corinthians is how to walk in such a way to be in fellowship with Christ.  He's saying, "Watch me and learn how to follow Christ."  This is not a call to continuously follow Paul but a call to watch and to mimic so that they can achieve Spiritual growth.  If I was going to diagram the emphasis on Paul's statement he is saying, "follow me AS I FOLLOW CHRIST".

Look at the word remember in the KJV version of 1 Corinthians 11:2.  Notice the word remember.  In the Greek this word is "mnoamai".  This word means to recall.  He's telling them to recall his actions in all things.  He's telling them to watch how he conducts himself and recall that in their given situations.  Compare that to Jesus' use of the word remember in Luke 22:19.  That word, "anamnēsis", speaks more of a living memory.  Paul is calling for the Corinthians to study him in an effort to grow while Jesus is calling them to constantly remember his sacrifice.

Today however, Paul's words have been distorted.  A message of "FOLLOW ME as I follow christ" as replaced Paul's message.  I purpose did not capitalize christ because those who are seeking a following are not following Christ the God ordained King but christ the self ordained king.  That is what left my friend mentioned above disenfranchised.  Her Pastor had considered himself the head of the church, each individual member's spiritual father.  His call was to follow him and let him worry about the following Christ part.  He had established himself as a mediator between his followers and Christ and consequently she was no longer plugged into Christ and no longer plugged into God.  There was no room for the Holy Spirit to work in her life.  The pastor taught her what he thought she needed to know, guided her to where he thought she needed to go, instructed her on what he thought she needed to give and charged her to bring more followers into "His House".

When Jesus died on the cross I doubt his design was to have thousands of local assemblies operating as individual bodies.  If that wasn't his design why is it so?  Why is it that when most people join a church, that person, their gifts, their fruit, their time and their money become the property of just that local assembly.  I've heard pastors proclaim to congregations, "Why would you want to go to another church to get fed when I've prepared a good meal right here?"  Is that scriptural?  Is it scriptural that joining a body cuts you off from The Body?  Is it God's will for you to feel disenfranchised and simply put on a happy face?

I don't think it is.  What is scriptural is to connect with Christ as your head and let Him guide your actions from there.