Fifth Confession

I have a lot of trouble with church leaders.  Maybe it's because I'm of a different tribe (they're Dan, I'm Issachar); maybe it's their style, or maybe it's a difference in focus.

I, for my part, love individual persons entirely too much.  Whole people groups can fall by the wayside - no tears shed by me.  One person gets saved - I'm flooded with joy, relief, and then almost immediately afterward, dread.  Why?  Because probably, they'll end up like church people.  And that, in my humble opinion, is a fate worse than death.  Not because salvation is bad - far from it - but instead of building a relationship that allows a person to grow into their fullness in Christ, most churches make a person into the image of the Pastor's Heaven.

Is God a Republican?  Is He a red-blooded American?  Does He vote conservatively?  Does He believe life was better back in the 50's, when patriotism and family-friendly entertainment were a way of life?  Is His Kingdom's hallmark staunch rules, with any lapse greeted with a disapproving stare and an angry lecture about decaying moral fiber?

Of course the answer to the above question is a vigorous "Heck No!"  But it's easier to put a mass into a box than to recognize each individual and see the qualities God placed in them.  It's simpler (and more effective) to tell everyone to hold to certain "virtues" than it is to befriend every single last one of them and find out what they need, where their need for growth is, and releasing them into what God has for their life.  To that end, and please forgive my cynicism, the church has become more of a morality business model than it has been an empowering bastion of hope for a lost and dying world.

Please don't misunderstand me.  The local church is necessary - vital, even - in the world today.  But in its zeal to build the Kingdom through sheer numbers, we have lost touch with the elements of basic Christendom.  The church demands a tithe, whereas a follower of Christ spends their money to feed and clothe a family.  The Pastor booms down from a pulpit, whereas the follower listens to the hurting and lost.

I'm not speaking against anyone, or against anything that Jesus has set up.  The Pastor is a gift from Jesus to the Church, for the feeding and care and equipping of the saints.  The entire five-fold ministry was given to care for and prepare the saints for the world; yet, it seems that more and more, the shepherds of the house smell less and less like sheep and more and more like leather.  The honor of a pastor is the glory of his flock, not the veneration by the saints.  The flock that is well tended honors their shepherd without prodding, oh happy sheep they!  But quis custodiet ipsos custodes, indeed?


I love the house that God placed me in, and I live to watch the people there grow into maturity.  May everyone grow into their proper station, fully into where God wants them to be.