If you've ever been to Jamaica, you probably noticed something right away. They pride themselves on tourism. Kristin and I just returned from an anniversary trip to a resort in Negril, Jamaica (we left the kids with Grammy and Papa). It was an amazingly relaxing time and a much appreciated getaway. Jamaicans who worked at the resort would ask what we have been doing and it was great to reply, "NOTHING!" The local Jamaican culture is very laid back, and it makes for a great setting to relax. But there is something strikingly more noticable than that. While the resort was luxurious, it was definately out of character for the rest of the country. Once you get more than 1000 ft from the ocean (at most) things take a drastic turn toward poverty and ruin. Luxury and beauty are set diametrically opposed to slums, literally. But as long as you stay in the resort, you never have to experience any of the brokenness of the other side of the culture.
I feel like we do the same with our church culture. We have what we want here. We put on smiles and act like everything is "No Problem." And as long as we stay here, we don't have to experience the brokenness of our city. As long as we don't let the city in, we can have a nice, clean church experience. We can put up fences and post people at the gates so that the luxury doesn't get out and the slum doesn't get in. This should never be.
There are three things that we should do to counteract this sort of legalism. First, we need to be OK with messy people coming in. In fact, we should be inviting them in. Will it change the complexion (possibly even literally) of our church? You bet. These are whom Jesus came to save. Jesus' own words from Luke 5:32, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He didn't come to call the clean, but the dirty. He didn't come to call the healthy, but the sick. We are called as christians to not only welcome them in, but to bring them here. Secondly, we must worship in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23). This means to worship God through his spirit and with honesty. When we simply go through the acts of worship and don't truly interact with God we may not only be giving people an inaccurate view of who we are, but who God is. God is Spirit and we must worship him in Spirit and truth. No masks. No facades. No fake smiles. No empty motions. Just fellow sojourners walking toward the light of Jesus, longing to really experience who He is. And finally, we must let the luxury we have here out. We must not limit it to the walls of First Christian. We must spill it everywhere we step. We must smudge it on everything we touch. We must breathe it out with each and every exhale. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3) and we must, therefore, be a blessing (Genesis 12:3).
We had a great time in Jamaica, but I left with a sense of wondering if we had really experienced Jamaica, or if it was just a microcosmic mutation of the real thing. When people come here, when we bring them here, let us not show them a religious people who do the church culture well. Let us show them God in Christ through his Holy spirit as we really experience Him together.
Humbly,
Dave
