Monday, January 14, 2008

The Church - Some Thoughts and Some Ranting

So I was reading in Matthew. You know... the passage where Jesus says that not everyone who cries to him "Lord,Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, only he who does the will of the heavenly father who is in heaven gets in. Now, call me a southern simpleton, but upon reading this passage, I began to examine myself and what I feel to be Christendom in general. My question is two-fold, who am I? Am I the one crying Lord, Lord that makes it, or am I going through the motions? I ask the same question of the church in general. So, I know that I don't meet the standard of Christ, but why is it that the church tries so hard to do what is right, and yet can't acknowledge when they (we) screw up. If we did acknowledge this, we could clearly speak volumes about one of our most important doctrines...grace. Instead the world only knows a hypocritical, judgemental, Republican, white, upper-middle class, Jesus that would rather just sip on a latte from Starbuck's than love people in an effort to touch their immortal souls. When we do actually decide to engage someone about their faith, some of us are too busy thinking of responses, judging their views, classifying their theological frameworks, to actually marvel at the beauty found inside a fellow child of God. If we did this, would our hearts not burn like the disciples that spoke with Jesus on the road to Emmaus? Would we not be consumed by a zeal to show people that Jesus, this God man thing Lord, wants to invite them into not just a relationship, but a friendship of unlimited porportions? Instead my friends, I believe we have become complacent. Satan has convinced some that the church and Christ are irrelevant. That...is crap!!!!! In our world, with our problems, Jesus has never been more relevant. From serving in the Sudan to the way you talk to the McDonald's cashier, you and I can actually be used by God to have an eternal impact for his kingdom. The problem that concerns me most, do we possess the constitution, the spiritual gumption, the love of God to go as far, preach as hard, love as passionately as a country boy carpenter that altered the very face of the world. Thoughts anyone?

2 comments:

CamillaLeAnn said...

Hi Mr. Ownby,
I am Cheyenne's cousin, and she sent me your blog to read! Wow. Your thoughts and insights are amazing. I really like this piece because our church is about to go through some changes, and I hope this is something we can work on: accepting our faults, and working to correct them. We have to realize that we are not--cannot be-- perfect, but Jesus loves us the way we are, and we need to SPREAD that love.
Thank you!!!!
Camilla.

CamillaLeAnn said...

Oh my. When I read the end of your blog, I thought, "hmm, I wonder if he knows that he almost quoted one of my favorite movies." THEN I went to your profile and read your favorite movies.... and you like The Boondock Saints!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually used that quote in my valedictorian speech when I graduated

"The question is not how far. The question is do you possess the constitution and depth of faith to go as far as is needed."