I haven’t written in a long time its seems, and lately, I have had more spiritual awakenings than mental health breakthroughs. I have a dedicated prayer and meditation space that I utilize more than I ever thought I would. That planted seed of devotion to my Lord and spending time with him has been already begun to bear fruit. I can’t be happier about that. I have realized that my views on church and ministry are transitioning and evolving into something new. Something deeper than a Sunday morning worship experience has ever given me.
Lately, I have been troubled with the “branding” of Christianity. My beliefs haven’t changed. I still trust in God’s word, but I am growing tired of the Sunday morning message of repenting of your sins, getting saved, trusting in God, believing in His word and God will grant you the desires of your heart. It’s a message that I’ve come to know, just isn’t true. I hear people say all the time that they are saved and they trust God, but in those same conversations, I can feel the emptiness in them, I hear of the struggles and the many things that they continually pray for, but never see their desires manifest. Am I saying that God doesn’t answer prayers, absolutely NOT! I am saying that God doesn’t answer ALL prayers. There is so much work that must take place before we to a place with God where we start to see the answers to our prayers. Better yet, where we start to accept the answers to our prayers.
In my prayer and meditation time, I have been quite silent lately. Mainly because I didn’t know what to pray for. So I meditate, do yoga, and wait to hear from Him. Sometimes, I leave meditation and prayer time with nothing more than I started with, but other times… I leave with more than I can manage at once. I went to a conference and we were asked to write down the things we desired to manifest in our lives. I was at a loss of one thing, so I wrote about 8. In that moment, I realized that I needed to pray for discernment of His priorities for me. Later in the week, I recognized that there were areas of my life that I wanted to improve, but lacked an overall discipline to make the necessary changes. Tonight, I knew my topic, but I didn’t know how to approach it. So in a few moments of meditation, the song featured at the top and mentioned in the title played from my play list, and God said there is your approach.
So back to the “branding” of Christianity I am so over… I don’t think its done on purpose. I am not sure how it started, or if anyone saw this coming, but the current message in the church is that being inside of those four man-made walls is how you get deliverance. That attending church service, and the order in which it is conducted is what is going to get us all into Heaven. That only those of us who enter the doors of a church on Sunday will be forgiven of our sins and welcomed into eternal life. I don’t care who told you that, but they are wrong. The gathering on Sunday morning, is meant to be the public expression of what is on the inside of you. We talk all the time about how people sin 6 days out of the week and show up to church in the best outfits and on their best saved and sanctified behavior. If there is no church in you on Wednesday, showing up Sunday isn’t going to change that.
Let’s call “church” what it is, a building. The Church is made of the people inside the building. God loves His people, no matter where they are, or where they choose to worship Him.
Here is my Truth and the message I was given while meditating on this song. God knows my name. He knows your name. He knew your name before conception, before your parents met, before your parents were conceived. We can assume He knew your name before time began. There is no earthly structure that can change that. The love, blessings, forgiveness, mercy, and grace of God are given freely to all of God’s people, even those who don’t dawn the doors of a building where worship takes place. No matter how many Sundays in a month you might make it to church, He will always know your name. Even in darkness. You are still on His list. Its time we stop feeding into the old narrative that God’s presence only manifests in church, because we know He shows up in the darkest, nastiest of places. I wish the Sunday service started with, finding out what brought you to church. It isn’t always because someone wants to hear the word of God. People are lost, lonely, unsure, and some even in fear. We could serve God more effectively, if we actively try to understand the needs of all His people. I’m not talking about alter calls and invitations to join, but a true discussion for first time “visitors” to give the church a better understanding of their needs. Imagine the church meeting the needs of its congregation. Imagine a church that teaches God’s people how to seek him, and build a relationship. I would love it if church taught us all how to go deeper into our relationship with God and didn’t hold it for the highest ranking members of the congregation. Imagine every person in the church being able to deliver a message from God because they have all gone that deep into it. Where everyone is transparent and obedient, and everyone feels entitled to the gifts and promises that God gave us all. Imagine waking up everyday, cloaked in the confidence that God Knows Your Name and never doubting it.
