hold your heart

You'll just have to hold your heart on this one. In a short time Christmas Day will fade into memory. Will we honor Jesus and His reason for coming?

As I reflect this Christmas evening I cannot help but ponder over the way we do church in America and how we do or do not live Jesus in the world. Have you noticed that we are losing serious ground with the mission of Jesus in our culture? This Christmas evening the significance of this day is powerful - A Savior, my Savior and your Savior who longs to be the Savior of others has been born to "redeem His people from their sin." In a few minutes Christmas will be over for many- but for me, I have renewed vigor to keep Christmas and that powerful message alive everyday in America.

In Reggie McNeals book, "The Present Future - Six Questions for the Church," he writes, "We have made following Jesus all about being a good church member. The scorecard is all about church membership, church participation, and church support. We are training people to be good club members, all the while wondering why our influence in the world is waning. The truth is, the North American church culture extracts salt from the world and diminishes the amount of light available to those in darkness who need to find their way."

As I ponder this evening on that first Christmas and the years in the life of Jesus that followed I see His purpose revealed and reinforced. I see a Jesus growing up as a carpenters son filled with driven purpose, filled with different values, priorities, focus, love, living, and example from those around Him and even us. He reached out to the outcast - the untoucheables - and the people thrown away by the church institution of His day.

Sadly, I see the life of Jesus and His purpose colliding with the American Church institution regarding what Jesus lived and stood for vs what we live and stand for. There is apparent idolotry in the American church that needs to be repented. We say we worship Jesus but that isn't always so. We say we love and support His mission and obey Him but often do not really. We often end up supporting our own mission, plans, desires and needs. We often fulfill the needs of our own church ministry culture - the very ministries we deem important while looking the other way from those who long to experience the savoring salt and the light they need to find Jesus. We say we are doing ministry and I am sure we are, but the question is, what ministry? Yours or His?

We celebrate Jesus and His birth and we thank Him for coming to redeem us and others - but rarely do we celebrate the personal cost and requirements of being His disciple. Instead of following Jesus and His clear mandate by living the example of His life we have created our own Gospel, one that allows us to view the missional priorities of Jesus from a distance.


Will the church, the pastors, leaders, church members and every Christ follower move out to the front lines with Jesus? Or, will we hold up in our own church fortress culture and comforts? Will we excuse our actions by planning "out-reach" events or will we insist that all Christ followers "reach-out" by living Jesus outside everyday?

Will we continue our mission or begin His? (Some are already doing His). Are you? If your heart is still beating give me your thoughts.