This might come as a surprise to you, but there's a lot about house church that annoys me.
For one thing, most of the people in our house church are so unlike me. They disagree with me about eschatology, theology, and politics. They don't like the same music that I like. They don't all agree with me on things like the proper way to baptize, or the end times, or about spiritual gifts, or healing, or speaking in tongues.
Not only do these people not agree with me about all of these things, they don't agree with each other about these things either. We all come from different denominational backgrounds and streams. None of us is on exactly the same page when it comes to these issues.
As a result, there are some Sunday mornings when I must confess I am pretty far outside my comfort zone. A little comment here, a little reference to a book or teacher there, a little wrong assumption about my view of a particular scripture, and I get very uncomfortable.
Of course, I realize that I could pretty easily solve this problem by either demanding that everyone line up with my particular viewpoint, or I could leave and try to find another church family that brought me closer to my personal comfort zone.
However, those solutions are even more objectionable to me than spending hours at a time in fellowship with a group of people who are different and rub me the wrong way occasionally.
In essence, I believe that Jesus is annoying me on purpose, and if Jesus intends to annoy me it must be because I need to have my rough edges rubbed off. What better resource for humbling me, and teaching me to listen to others, and showing me how to love people who are different from me than a church family full of people who are not like me?
Honestly, my definition of hell would be to sit for hours at a time in a room full of Christians who never challenged me, never questioned me, never taught me anything I didn't already know, and never pulled me out of my comfort zone.
I love my church family. They are gloriously annoying and I know that I am just as annoying to them.
If you don't believe me, just ask them.
-kg
Amen, brother. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis post is annoying! :)
ReplyDeleteWe can very much relate. Sometimes I have wondered if something was wrong with us that we seem to care little of whether or not we all agree about doctrine. Since we don't, we do have some rather annoying and ODD moments when someone says something (especially to a new person) where you are left shaking your head (imperceptibly, of course.)
ReplyDeleteSo it is humility we are journeying towards? I think you are onto something...
I think we are all on a different journey in this thing called I press toward the goal of the upward calling of Christ. And as Christians we all seem to want to be right. And we want everyone to receive what our revelation is. To some house church is it to others big churches are there thing.In Christ we are called to love one another. And then the world will know you are my discipline.
ReplyDelete