Not a fan.
Sometimes I just have days when I feel like God is screaming at me. It's not an angry scream, and he's not doing it because I'm not listening. He's just trying to make a point, in a voice that he knows I understand, in a voice he knows I'll listen to.
It seems every time I open up the word I learn more and more about myself that I didn't know before. I recently learned how pathetic I feel that I haven't actually read this book I've known for 23 years, all the way through. What I render to be even more absurd, is how I've made large and obscure claims in the past about what 'religious category' I fall into, without even reading on a deep level to discover for myself.
Maybe pathetic is a strong word, but I'm constantly falling short, and I can only blame myself.
I've got so many questions. But do they need answers?
These thoughts have been running through my head. I love running, but they just won't seem to stop. It seems every moment my mind finds a moment of freedom, I run back to this attitude about religious incoherency that I've recently adopted.
We go to church. We put on our "Sunday best." We carry a Bible in our hands. We smile and wave to other members. We listen to a sermon. We sing a few songs. We go home.
When did church become such a routine? And why have we settled into these habits that are only self-involved? We listen, we sing, we pray. But do we act? Do we actively seek out fellow Christians who may not actually hear Christ at church? And sometimes, we listen to a testimony of a missionary in a foreign land, without even realising that the person next to us needs a missionary as well.
How do you know that everyone is saved? They come to church, but do they believe? And how can we actually say we know someone, when we only read a passage with them and say hello one day a week? When did church become a one-day event? When did God become part of the dress we put on for worship?
I'm not trying to say that this applies to everyone. But I find that their is a lack of intimacy in Christ. No one has a perfect week. Not every member of the congregation picks up a Bible everyday. But why? Do we know? Are they too busy? Are they too scared? Are they secretly lost?
"Not A Fan." Have you read it? It's a book by Kyle Idleman, written to anyone who can bear to hear the truth about how feeble attempts to follow Christ. I haven't actually read it, but what I've heard about it seems to really bring my thoughts to the surface.
Here are two quotes I enjoy:
“These religious types were the fans that Jesus seems to have the most trouble with. Fans who will walk into a restaurant and bow their heads to pray before a meal just in case someone is watching. Fans who won’t go to R-rated movies at the theater, but have a number of them saved on their DVR at home. Fans who may feed the hungry and help the needy, and then they make sure they work it into every conversation for the next two weeks. Fans who make sure people see them put in their offering at church, but they haven’t considered reaching out to their neighbor who lost a job and can’t pay the bills. Fans who like seeing other people fail because in their minds it makes them look better. Fans whose primary concern in raising their children is what other people think. Fans who are reading this and assuming I’m describing someone else. Fans who have worn the mask for so long they have fooled even themselves.”
"Fans want Jesus to inspire them, but Jesus wants to interfere with their lives.”
The book digs deep in regards to how we as Christians have become more or less 'Fans,' instead of 'Followers' of Christ. We want Jesus on a good day, but do we seek him on the bad? Okay, maybe you do. But do you seek Christ when someone else is having an off day? Or do we put on the clothing that we deem acceptable to follow, but in reality, just sit and watch?
Sometimes I want to just save the world... to share God's word with everyone on every continent. But then I realise that amidst this desire, is a community of friends and family who need to see a follower just as badly.
Jesus doesn't want a fan club. He wants a lifestyle. He doesn't want us to look to him for our morning dose of good news. He wants to completely disturb our morning and place himself in the center of our lives...
And I'm always falling short.
It seems every time I open up the word I learn more and more about myself that I didn't know before. I recently learned how pathetic I feel that I haven't actually read this book I've known for 23 years, all the way through. What I render to be even more absurd, is how I've made large and obscure claims in the past about what 'religious category' I fall into, without even reading on a deep level to discover for myself.
Maybe pathetic is a strong word, but I'm constantly falling short, and I can only blame myself.
I've got so many questions. But do they need answers?
These thoughts have been running through my head. I love running, but they just won't seem to stop. It seems every moment my mind finds a moment of freedom, I run back to this attitude about religious incoherency that I've recently adopted.
We go to church. We put on our "Sunday best." We carry a Bible in our hands. We smile and wave to other members. We listen to a sermon. We sing a few songs. We go home.
When did church become such a routine? And why have we settled into these habits that are only self-involved? We listen, we sing, we pray. But do we act? Do we actively seek out fellow Christians who may not actually hear Christ at church? And sometimes, we listen to a testimony of a missionary in a foreign land, without even realising that the person next to us needs a missionary as well.
How do you know that everyone is saved? They come to church, but do they believe? And how can we actually say we know someone, when we only read a passage with them and say hello one day a week? When did church become a one-day event? When did God become part of the dress we put on for worship?
I'm not trying to say that this applies to everyone. But I find that their is a lack of intimacy in Christ. No one has a perfect week. Not every member of the congregation picks up a Bible everyday. But why? Do we know? Are they too busy? Are they too scared? Are they secretly lost?
"Not A Fan." Have you read it? It's a book by Kyle Idleman, written to anyone who can bear to hear the truth about how feeble attempts to follow Christ. I haven't actually read it, but what I've heard about it seems to really bring my thoughts to the surface.
Here are two quotes I enjoy:
“These religious types were the fans that Jesus seems to have the most trouble with. Fans who will walk into a restaurant and bow their heads to pray before a meal just in case someone is watching. Fans who won’t go to R-rated movies at the theater, but have a number of them saved on their DVR at home. Fans who may feed the hungry and help the needy, and then they make sure they work it into every conversation for the next two weeks. Fans who make sure people see them put in their offering at church, but they haven’t considered reaching out to their neighbor who lost a job and can’t pay the bills. Fans who like seeing other people fail because in their minds it makes them look better. Fans whose primary concern in raising their children is what other people think. Fans who are reading this and assuming I’m describing someone else. Fans who have worn the mask for so long they have fooled even themselves.”
"Fans want Jesus to inspire them, but Jesus wants to interfere with their lives.”
The book digs deep in regards to how we as Christians have become more or less 'Fans,' instead of 'Followers' of Christ. We want Jesus on a good day, but do we seek him on the bad? Okay, maybe you do. But do you seek Christ when someone else is having an off day? Or do we put on the clothing that we deem acceptable to follow, but in reality, just sit and watch?
Sometimes I want to just save the world... to share God's word with everyone on every continent. But then I realise that amidst this desire, is a community of friends and family who need to see a follower just as badly.
Jesus doesn't want a fan club. He wants a lifestyle. He doesn't want us to look to him for our morning dose of good news. He wants to completely disturb our morning and place himself in the center of our lives...
And I'm always falling short.
Being a follower starts with feeling our falling-shortness. But it doesn't end there, thanks to Jesus. Thanks for some good reminders.
ReplyDeletedang girl. this is good. total thought-provoker. it sounds like a really good book from the quotes you put up.
ReplyDeletehey... good stuff... i get it. i get you.
ReplyDelete