The Good Old Days...

I heard a person use this expression recently in reference to the 80's and 90's when we in the church started to enjoy hyped up worship services. I remember my first Al Denson concert where I actually raised my hand in worship. I felt spiritual. I guess those were the times, in this person's words, that we had big "movements of the Holy Spirit." I would have concurred a few years ago. But now I wonder if I would want to return to those days. The good old days are just that, old...

The church I attended as a teenager is, for all intents and purposes, dying. I hate it. The sin of self quietly leveled the place. And what I mean by quietly is it took about 15 years to happen. All the while there were times of great "movements" going on in worship. Really?

I have become skeptical of emotional worship. I fear at times I shut off emotion to avoid becoming what I hate: churches who snot all over each other at an altar and leave virtually unchanged. I have done that myself many times, and about a week later I feel dirty.

Additionally, I am becoming a bit skeptical of the "accepting Jesus as my savior" experience. I know that's heretical, but the experience, as promoted by the church today, seems to cripple the true message of the Gospel. I know the value of commitments and definitive decisions. But the experience has become the trophy for the church; it's almost for our validation. Both of these things, "movements of the Holy Spirit" and "accepting Jesus..." seem to be the measure for whether or not God is at work in a church...and for those that like these modes of measurement, they tend to de-spiritualize anything that doesn't reflect the "good old days." I want more...

As I learn about the Kingdom of God, that is, the here and now Kingdom of God, I become more aware that the invitation is a way of living. The accepting Jesus concept, continues to put the Kingdom "out there." We end up accepting Jesus so that some day we can get into that far-away Kingdom. Our ultimate fear is that we will be left behind. Inviting people to emotional worship (movements of the Holy Spirit) in hopes they will accept Jesus as Savior cheapens the Kingdom that He came to proclaim. And what's sad is people leave those times excited that one day they will be in the Kingdom, but don't have a clue that the real call of the One they just "accepted", is that the Kingdom is here, and can be lived in the now.

I never learned how to live the Kingdom from my church. No one really pointed me to Jesus (the person, not the concept) and told me to live out the Kingdom he came to proclaim. The focus seemed to be more on believing the right things, doing the right things, and avoiding the wrong things, and one day I would go to heaven (oh, and if I accepted Jesus). Boring...

I am thankful that God is coming to my rescue and giving me a new paradigm of the church and our mission. I don't yet have all the answers I want, and most of the time I am pretty confused (see above). But at least life isn't boring. I see people around me that are hungry to live for something bigger than themselves. And I have a wife that would live in shack of a house if it meant that's what it took for us to experience a true taste of the Kingdom. So, I guess for me, right now is the "Good Old Days..."