Spend some time hanging out with Jesus

Have you hung out with Jesus lately?
That may seem like an odd question, but I think it's a fair one.
I have spent a lot of time and thought about the church in general and you've probably noticed I have written a lot about it also.
I have read many books, heard many speakers, talked with many church people, both traditional and not so traditional.
We seem to be all talking about the same things, maybe just approaching it differently.
Really when we think about a vision or purpose for the church we sometimes forget to walk a while following Jesus.
As I have studied the Gospels, I try to imagine myself walking behind Jesus when He did things, asking questions like "why did He do that?"
I find some interesting things, like Jesus cared for and commanded that we care for those that are often overlooked, that He really was a friend to sinners that had been shunned in society and offered them something better. He picked outcasts and simple people to start a movement.
He was kind to the woman caught in adultery and very hard on those who claimed to be holy.
He spent time talking about the kingdom, took time to bless children. He took the law to the next step by saying that it was what was in a man's heart that was the issue.
And He gave everything He could give, even His life so that others might live.
When we go into our meetings, when we plan and cast vision, when we decide what our purpose is exactly, we must remember what was important to Jesus. What were the things that Jesus taught? Are we willing to give up some dear things, time, money, traditions, to create a culture that people could come and find life? Spending time with Jesus was a tough road, many turned away because the teachings and the life was just to difficult. Many churches decide that following Him is just to uncomfortable, they hide behind the walls of their churches and their homes.
And many times, that has been me.
But what is so wonderful about our God is that it's never to late, as long as we breathe we can become what God has called us to be. He is the God of transformation, He is in the change business, it just requires us to be obedient and faithful to His call.
If you've been thinking about how dry your life is, or that it seems your getting nowhere, spend some time hanging out with Jesus.
Grab some coffee or tea, get your Bible, turn to Matthew,
and hang on.

Time for a revolution?

Is it time?
I've been listening to the audio book "Revolution" by George Barna. Anybody that knows anything about Barna knows that George loves stats. He looks for trends inside and outside the church.
I won't get into the details, but suffice it to say, the church as a whole doesn't get high marks.
The hope that he sees in the future is that God is raising people up who consider themselves revolutionary.
You might think that these people are just a small fringe group who are just sour about what happened to them in a traditional church. Jesus freaks who don't play well with others.
But I've ran across these people in my travels. They are young and old, outspoken and quiet, they come from different backgrounds, some have gone to church all of their lives, others are new believers that have little church history.
What makes them revolutionary (and why some are scared of them) is that they don't see church as the most important thing of their spiritual life.
That offends some, mainly because they have formulated that to be a good Christian, you have to be in church. But does going to church actually make us better Christians?
The statistics that Barna uses doesn't indicate that (I'm not going to quote them...read the book), the one that stood out to me is that we divorce at about the same rate as non-believers!
What concerns Barna, and others, is the direction the church in America is headed. It seems that we are holding on to the institution with a death grip when maybe what we should be doing is studying the New Testament church. There was organization, which isn't bad, but there was also a desire to follow Christ and His ways. They didn't come together just to be coming together, they came together to worship and share with each other, their burdens and their needs. It was a beautiful thing.
As time passes I believe more of these revolutionaries will make themselves known. You will tell because they will become dissatisfied with just sitting in a church on Sunday. They want more of Christ than what their getting. They know there's work to be done and they can't sit still until they have their sleeves rolled up doing it.
You may not like the direction or ideas of the revolutionary, and you don't have to. But you will have to deal with them.
The church was never meant to become static. It was to be a dynamic, thriving, living thing that God partnered with that changed the world.
Does that describe you? We should be constantly looking for ways we can show the love of Christ to the world.
If that's revolutionary, so be it.