Our Greatest Leaders???

What have we as the church done with our greatest leaders?

Think about it, those within the church who are what we would describe as the "most spiritual", or the most highly trained theologically, spiritually, ministry ect, (if we can really say this lol, but you know what I am saying) are the very ones that we completely pull out of everyday life, and isolate them in a church building. On the whole the only contact that a "Pastor", or "professional minister" has with others is in this artificial environment. They have no major contact with the outside world or with the real every day lives of other Followers. Their life is this "ministry" that exists outside of normal life.

What happens when we take our greatest leaders and lock them up in a building?????

Gospel

Recently Christ has been taking me on a journey in my understanding of the gospel. You see its a strange thing because the gospel is something that is suppose to be so important and even central to our faith. But so many times when a message moves to talking about the gospel, I get bored and check out, or a book starts talking about Jesus dieing on the cross, I just skip ahead. The "gospel" is elementary, or something that new believers think about and deal wtih, but us mature Christians need only to pass it on to potential converts when the occasion arise but move on to more important or relevant Christian issues.

But wait something is wrong here! The gospel, the good news, how can it be boring? How can it be irrelevant? Shouldn't it excite my soul, shouldn't it make me come alive when I ponder it's mysteries? But wait what mystery is there really. Growing up in the church I can give you the romans road, or the 4 spiritual laws, or some other mechanical rendition of the "gospel". But how can we boil something like the gospel (the good news!) down in to a simple formula? How can you mechanize life? How can you systematize grace? What has the modern church done with the gospel? I've come to see that the gospel is rich and deep and profound, yet simple, its beautiful in a way that can't be describe, it's a mystery that we we will ponder for a life time, it is the greatest most aw inspireing thing that has or will ever enter into my existence. It is my life. It defines who I am. Imagine me, a student studying to go into full time Ministry, and I am just now beginning to understand the gospel. Something is wrong!

So are we missing something? What is the gospel?

Christian Wal-Mart

Recently I attended the "National Youth Worker Conference" in St. Louis. For the most part I had and enjoyable even beneficial experience on this trip. However there was an aspect of this trip that particularly broke my heart, the exhibit hall where all of the "Christian" business were on display trying to sell their products. It was a “Christian Wal-mart”. After walking around for a few minutes the realization of what was really going on finally hit me. It was consumerism and materialism at its finest, only with a Christian label on it. The advertisement was absolutely everywhere, even on our room cards to our hotel rooms (thanks to youth specialties)! As I walked, each of these companies were not trying to meet a need of mine or looking out for my best interest, but instead they were trying to get me to buy their product, and they appealed to the materialism that we all struggle with, to try to accomplish this goal. “Free ipod’s, free clothes, 400 Free cd's, free this, free that”, as if any of us really need any more stuff. If anything we all need to get ride of much of the “stuff” that is consuming our lives. But some how we think that we need so much more. Afterwards I walked away and thought “wow I guess that until I came here I didn’t realize that I had all these needs for all these products, but how lucky I am that the very companies that have informed me of my needs, just happen to have the answer to those needs for sale for me at a very special 20% off, because they are trying to look out for me!” I’m sorry but the church has adopted the materialistic consumerism from our culture and made it into an ok thing, or even a good thing. What a heart breaking realization. This is not the way of Jesus! But on the other hand it was a good thing because my eyes where really opened and I gained some new insight into this reality, so in the end I am thankful for this heart-breaking experience. But as the church what have we become, when we pay $650 to attend and event just to be persuaded into buying even more stuff? Am I being to harsh or overly critical? Does this fit with the way of Jesus?????