One day my children are going to dig up some of my blog posts and be really embarrassed that I use them so much for my illustrations, but they are the best living examples that I've got. Plus, I don't ever tell the really juicy stuff.
The other day in my house a one-sided argument broke out between two of my kids. One child was applying chap stick that apparently belonged to another one of my children. No big deal, right? Wrong. The owner of said chap stick spotted the lip-balm heist in progress and almost blew a gasket. The words "my chap stick" were repeated (shouted) numerous times and, to make matter worse (or more funny depending on your point of view), the offending child appeared to relish the crime and continued to apply enough chap stick to protect a small African village.
Kellie and refereed our way through the incident and calm was soon restored in our home. What stuck with me was how quickly we as people are to claim things as our own, especially things that don't truly belong to us. This new house that we just bought - the bank really owns it. The clothes and toys that kids fight over - their parents own them. The pro ball player that doesn't give his all and snubs the team - the season tickets holders own his contract, and thus his livelihood.
What about church buildings? "That doesn't count. We own the deed. This building is paid in full and we own it." Oh really? Last I checked, the Church belongs to God. It is His invention and Jesus is its head. Many believers act as if the church is only a building and it's their building. If their building were no longer standing, their church would no longer exist.
Go a step further if you will. What we do for God then becomes our possession as well. Our programs, our ministry, our growth, our system of doing things. We meet regularly to vote on issues to protect our investments and, more often than not, the souls of the lost never come up in those sometimes tense business meetings. Yet everything that we do or create in a church setting belongs to God, whether we like it or not.
Steven Curtis Chapman has a great song entitled "Yours." In the words, Chapman doesn't waste His time trying to convince us that buildings or programs should be committed to God. Instead the message is clear - people belong to God and He loves them. Desperately loves them. To the point of death.
I am not anti-church nor do I believe that we should jettison any organizational structure for our congregations. But I do believe we could and should spend a lot more time focusing on people and a lot less time on man-made structures. This sentiment I express isn't new - it's shared by many. When we are truly willing to be the gospel to people then the church will be what the church should be, the precious possession of God and the beautiful bride of Christ.
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