What it means to be a follower of Christ today. How do you view your relationship with God? How do you view the modern-day church?
Sang Won Sur
Nowadays, I'm trying to envision what God has for my life; what I
ought to do, where I should go, when I should take action, and whom I
should be. I wonder if any of you are thinking the same thing. With
many shifts in the economy, the fall of the corporate world (unless
you younger people haven't noticed, getting a job isn't what matters
any more -- there is no stability in any job like in the past) and the
local churches are becoming more religious and away from God (building
programs and having more worship services to say "we are the pathway
to God"), I believe we need God to show and guide us in our lives to
get through the complications of today's society.
I'm currently reading a book titled "Revolution" by George Barnas.
Barnas is a Christian taht is known to research trends in society by
collecting data/statistics to project the "real world." This
particular chapter talks about the trends of the local churches . . .
which he says, it's not looking good. (The entire chapter is attached,
it's like a 5 min read, go through it and reply back with some of your
thoughts on it).
Couple of points to get you interested:
1. George Barnas asks a tough question for many of us church-goers (yes, YOU):
"if the local church is God’s answer to our spiritual needs, then why
are most churched Christians so spiritually immature and desperate?"
(not to add more depressed and with less hope! Also, no different in
suicide or divorce rates than those that do not believe in Jesus)
2. The local church is no longer a place where it fills our spiritual needs,
"If the local church were the answer to our deep spiritual need, we
would see two things. First, people who were most heavily involved in
a Christian congregation would be more spiritually developed than
others. Second, churched Christians would increasingly reflect the
principles and characteristics Scripture tells us are the marks of
Jesus’ true disciples."
(Many so-called Christians don't understand what it means to have a
relationship with Jesus nor do their lives show Christ-like
characters!)
3. The local church is not the path to Jesus or path to God. We have
that direct path to God already through Jesus! Many local churches
believe that attending services is the way to holiness, and those that
do not attend are less holy.
"The point here is simply to recognize that if we place all our hope
in the local church, it is a misplaced hope. Many well-intentioned
pastors promote this perspective by proclaiming, “The local church is
the hope of the world.” Like most advertising slogans, this notion is
emotionally appealing. The trouble is, the sentiment is not biblical.
Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the hope of the world. The local church is
one mechanism that can be instrumental in bringing us closer to Him
and helping us to be more like Him. But, as the research data clearly
show, churches are not doing the job. If the local church is the hope
of the world, then the world has no hope."
4. George Barnas ends this chapter well by saying,
"It’s not about church. It’s about the Church—that is, the people who
actively participate in the intentional advancement of God’s Kingdom
in partnership with the Holy Spirit and other believers."
So, I want to ask you guys ~
How's your relationship with God? Do you talk with Him daily? constantly?
(If you feel you need some help on this area, email me back.)
And how are you on your view of the modern-day church? Are you looking
for more than what you are experiencing now?
(write back about these things -- and let me know if I can offer you
any suggestions)
I encourage all of you to write back on this email with your thoughts ~
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As for some administrative stuff:
Pastor John said he's looking into/thinking of coming up with a
different name for his ministry. I'll build him a new website to meet
his tastes, and continue with GPS4Jesus Ministries a para-church
ministry -- probably through blogs, chats, and emails for now. (well,
for now, just emails -- he he he)
- All of you currently on this mailing list, if you don't want to be
involved any further, just write me an email and I'll remove you.
- Any of you I added to the CC of this email, if you'd like to walk
with me on my journey of life, sign up to GPS4jesus googlegroups. (I
know I added many of you on CC. I won't send any more (unless you sign
up to googlegroup) to prevent spams in your box)
Sign up here:
http://groups.google.com/group/gps4jesus
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Everyone that's been with GPS4Jesus Ministries ~ give a shout out,
it's been a while since we've all talked. Let us all know how you're
doing!
(Maybe when the weather gets warmer, we should have a BBQ together,
back at our crib [the little shed] at Pal Park to catch up!)
Everyone stay strong!
-Sang