I cannot promise that this will
end up being a short post. As you might have figured, frustration is what is
fueling this post. Well, in all honesty, the frustration has died off a bit. My
mind is much clearer so I can put together coherent thoughts that will more
accurately convey what I am observing.
Fellowship, tithing, and going to
church, are ideas that have been brought up frequently in the last month.
Through many of these conversations, it has been made clear that there seems to
be a grave misunderstanding with the use of such phrases. Within many of the
circles I have been a part of, these words share a distinct relationship.
Growing in a Christian house hold…we went to church to fellowship and pay our
tithes. This would be a valid summary of what many other people have grown up
under. However, this understanding of things is what causes such a dependence
and obligation to religious system. What this spells out is RELIGIOUS DUTY AND
OBLIGATION. If you do not perform…well…you miss out on the blessings that God
has for you.
Recently, I did a bible study
with close friends and we decided that the best topic to cover would be the
idea of fellowship. Most if not all who were present for the study are what I
would call church escapees or rebels. All of us have grown up within the
confines of a shallow and narrow understanding of why we are “supposed” to go
to church. All of us had the same scripture quote pop in our heads. “Do not
forsake the assembling of yourselves,” is what popped into each one of our
minds. This has been the most “crippling” proof text about why we have to be “in”
church. In my snarkiness I decided to raise the question…, “Doesn't this count
for assembling ourselves?” There was a small pause, but it was a unanimous
decision. What we were doing constituted a “church” gathering…what’s more is
that we were breaking bread together…OH MY GOODNESS we were being BIBLICAL?!?!
You mean to tell me, we were being scripturally accurate without actually going
to a “church”. What’s more we were
delving into things at what I would say was a higher level and more
importantly, we were getting to know one another more intimately.
It was at that point that we
realized true fellowship was happening. We were being intentional about being
in each other’s lives, heading towards a common goal, from a common
denominator. At someone some asked the question, “Does fellowship actually
really happen at church?” We all looked at each other for a moment, before we
all started laughing. Apparently there was an understanding that though we grew
up in church, fellowship like we were experiencing currently NEVER had happened
while we were doing our Sunday morning duties. Fellowship typically happened
outside of the church setting, and found its home in the normal day to day
things of life. We understood that fellowship requires intentionality and does
not happen at an intimate place without that intentionality. Am I saying don’t
go to church? Absolutely not! I am saying that if you are going to church for
fellowship…you are probably not going to miss it.
I mean really…from what I have
noticed church fellowship is akin to going to high school. Got your
introductory things to wake you up, then got your announcements, got a few
activities that involve others, then you are in your seat listening to the
professor talk at you for a good 30 minutes to an hour. Then we are let out of
our seats to go home. On the way home, we may see a few of our friends and
others we haven’t seen in a while. We will put on a smile, exchange some small
talk, grab our families and head of to watch the game, get dinner, or sleep. In
what part of that has fellowship actually occurred? At what part have we
invested in relationship? Yes we invested vertically, but have we invested
horizontally? UH…probably not. Also, when I talk about fellowship words like
partnership and participation help to clarify what I mean. Fellowship in my
understanding means that we are becoming partners in each other’s lives,
actively participating in the growth development and furthering of our lives as
individuals as well as the moving forward of the Kingdom we say we are a part
of.
Then another interesting thought
came to mind, how do we actually begin to invest I the lives of those we are in fellowship with? That is where the monkey wrench of TITHING came into the picture. I am
just going to say this right now…I do not believe in tithing PERIOD. I think
tithing is so below the standard of Kingdom living, that it ought to be
illegal. Yes, I admit I have strong feelings concerning this. However, my
opinion is not without merit. Does anyone know what the TITHE actually is?
If you are saying that it is 10% of your income…you are actually WRONG! VERY
WRONG! My buddy Nathan wrote an excellent blog concerning this topic. Many people are ignorant concerning what the
tithe is and what is was actually supposed to be used for. As such many put
themselves in an unfavorable position because they are missing out on some major
spiritual principles and things they are not legally bound too since they are
not Jews. Secondly, they are functioning way under the Kingdom standard because
it is based upon an inferior and NOW obsolete covenant. I will detail what I
mean concerning that in another blog. There are major differences between the
Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The most major difference being that the
compulsion we were under to carry out certain deeds was rendered impotent when
the New Covenant of God’s grace was given. We now do things out of our heart
not out of obligation.
So then what do you do with all
that extra cash that’s lying around? GIVE IT AWAY CHEERFULLY. See the tithe was
a mandatory thing. Now, we have the opportunity to give it away freely,
cheerfully, and abundantly. We are not put in a place of responsibility to give
based upon how we actually see God and understand Him. It really is an exercise
of our heart more than it is a test of our obedience. Do we believe that God really
functions from abundance and loves funneling that abundance through us…or do we
believe he functions from a budget? Giving frees us up to give without
restriction. Rather than simply doing our duty to give 10% of our produce and
livestock, we are no able to give EVEN MORE! See God’s kids should be known to
be the most GENEROUS, LOVING, GRACIOUS, and KIND people, on the face of the
planet. However, is that what people
really see?
Here in lies my frustration with
going to “church” and dealing with Christianity as a whole. I really love
people. I absolutely love seeing people living in freedom. I love seeing they
eyes of people light up as truth begins to shatter the coke bottle lenses they
had been forced to wear for so long. I love watching people drunkenly come to
the reality that they are free from condemnation and shame. Even better as I
see people take their chains and burn them, then find another to help them do
the same thing. Do I want to see things change? YES! Yet, for the church to
change…those who run the churches are going to have to realize that they are no
different from any of the other sheep within their congregations. There is only
one shepherd. His name is Jesus. The rest of us are HIS sheep. One thing I
would not is this…Pastors, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelist, Teacher’s, if you
are claiming to be a part of the five-fold ministry team…you are at best a
bell-sheep. You will NEVER be the shepherd. There is a story concerning the
wayward lamb that becomes the bell sheep. However, being a bell sheep in the
way that I am using it requires intimacy and transparency with the shepherd. It
is time spent with the shepherd but never forgetting the relationship. Though a
bell sheep, you are still a sheep. You are no different than any other sheep of
the flock. Never forget that. The playing field is level across the board. We
must learn to lead among rather than leading from a position. The mentality of
who will be the greatest in the Kingdom is a HUGE problem within the church. We
have forgotten the words of Christ. The greatest among you will be the servant
of all.
A person I know typically gets
mad at me for sharing things like this because they see it as easy to diagnose
the problem. They always ask me so what are you going to do about the problem.
People perish for lack of knowledge. So the first thing is bring this stuff to
the light. Secondly, invest intimately and actually cultivate meaningful relationships
that challenge the status quo in the church. Empower people to ask question.
Help people find the confidence to challenge norms. Remind people to take the
tape off of their mouths. It is time for the conversation to go from a whisper
to a passionate plea.
Here is a link to my buddy Nathan's Blog concerning tithing.
Here is a link to my buddy Nathan's Blog concerning tithing.
