I find myself really frustrated these days with the church system.  I’m not frustrated with the Church, the organic, living Body and Bride of Christ (among other things).  But the system…the man…the heirarchy that really makes the Church something entirely other here.  Frank Viola described what happens when cultures get their hands on the Church.  He said that (paraphrased), “The Greeks turned it into a philosophy, the Romans turned it into a government, the Western world turned it into a culture, and the United States turned it into a business”.

And that’s what I find far too often.  Granted there are still no doubt those who have not bowed their knees to the gods of name, renown, or glory.  But overall, we resemble exactly the culture we cry out against.  We despise one another, we backbite, we seek leadership in order to elevate ourselves something the Lord clearly condemned when He said ” the Gentiles lord over the other Gentiles, but it shall not be so among you” (emphasis added).  If you can’t tell I’m frustrated.

There is something more.  Something our mega-churches, and mega-trons, and mega-systematic theologies have missed.  Too often I find things labeled “Christian” look exactly like their “secular” counterparts except with the name of Christ attached.  Is that really what Jesus wanted?  Or did He know what he brought was entirely different in such a way that there were only two responses: repent and believe or persecute.  Somehow, we have believed that the “ignore” option is a third valid choice for people.

I believe that the Church is for more than cultural change or morality.  It is the place where the life of God flows freely between believers.  It is a place where God is made visible through the actions and lives of His people.  And those things change more than cultures.  When the Church lives as it should, it advances the Kingdom of God and lays waste to the Kingdom of Darkness.  Entire lives and communities are radically changed forever.  This is a stark contrast to where we find ourselves today.

But I have hope.  I know that God is advancing His Kingdom in places that before seemed impossible.  I know that He is coming again to rescue His people, sift the wheat, divide the sheep and goats, and reign forever among His people.  I hope in that.

For now, I feel a burden for the church in my country.  I feel we need a call back to Jesus.  A call back to the ways of Jesus that so diverge from the ways of America.  We need to be reminded that the two are not synonymous, and that often our traditions are man-made systems and regulations that hinder our ability to worship God the same way that the Pharisees traditions hindered them.

For now, I will live in the midst of the frustration and hope in the One that has redeemed us to a new Life and a new Way.

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