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August 9, 2008
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
The Church of Me, by Patrick D. Odum
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts,
especially the gift of prophecy. For those who speak in a tongue do
not speak to other people but to God. Indeed, no one understands
them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But those who prophesy
speak to people for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
Those who speak in a tongue edify themselves, but those who
prophesy edify the church. I would like every one of you to speak
in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. Those who
prophesy are greater than those who speak in tongues, unless they
interpret, so that the church may be edified (1 Corinthians 14:1-5
TNIV). ... Everything must be done so that the church may be built
up (1 Corinthians 14:26).
When George Michael goes to church, he doesn't have to go far.
Mr. Michael (not the singer of the same name) recently informed the
village of Lake Bluff, the wealthy suburb of Chicago in which he lives,
that he was not liable for the nearly $80,000 in property taxes that he
owes on his $3 million dollar mansion because he has converted the home
into the Armenian Church of Lake Bluff.
To get the exemption, Michael showed the State of Illinois his clergy
license from the Church of Spiritual Humanism (which he apparently got
online), photos of an altar, church bulletins and by-laws, and other
necessary documentation. He even put up a cross on the side of the
home. Michael says he started the church because his wife and daughter
are disabled and so can't get to their regular church in Chicago.
The Village and the County Review Board are skeptical. Certainly, the
whole thing would be much more convincing if Michael wasn't already in
debt and facing a lawsuit in a business matter. Then there are the
numerous signs on his property in a subdivision near a golf course that
say "No Trespassing" and "Private Property." Neighbors haven't reported
seeing anything that looks like Sunday services happening, either.
Michael insists, though, that the house is now owned by the Armenian
Church of Lake Bluff, though that might not convince anyone, either.
The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America has no record of such a
church. Meanwhile, Village officials have notified Michael that if he
is running a church, he'll need to pay more than $115,000 in fines,
since opening a church in an area zoned as "country estate residence"
requires a special permit. It seems that the Village will likely get
paid, one way or the other.
Maybe Michael didn't think of that.
Before we get too judgmental toward Mr. Michael, however, maybe we
should stop and take a look at ourselves. I would guess that he's
probably not the only one who's ever looked for sanctuary in the Church
of Me. Maybe none of us are looking for property-tax relief, but
something about us makes us sort of quick to ask what the church has
done for us lately. Are my needs being met? Are my suggestions being
heard? Do I like the music and the preaching? Are there plenty of
well-staffed, quality programs for my kids? Are there lots of people
like me who I don't have to work too hard to relate to?
The Church of Me: Where I can be served but don't have to serve others.
The Church of Me: Where the only music is the kind I like.
The Church of Me: Where everyone will treat me like a member of the
family on Sunday and leave me alone the rest of the week.
The Church of Me: Where the perks are many and the demands are few.
The Church of Me: Where it's less about the Way and more about My Way.
When Paul wrote his first letter to the church at Corinth, they were
quickly becoming the Church of Me. They argued about which preachers
they liked best. Fought about when to start the church potlucks. They
argued about whether marriage was allowed and which spiritual gifts
were the most important. They bickered about whose turn it was to lead
a song or give a prophecy. That's why Paul has to remind them that they
are to be far more concerned about the church as a whole than
themselves. "Everything must be done so that the church may be built
up," he writes them. If it comes down to a choice between doing
something to edify yourself and doing something to edify the church --
and it will come down to such a choice, from time to time -- he says
that every time you should remember that you're a part of the church
that belongs to Christ, and not the sole member and head of the Church
of Me.
We need a pronoun change.
If Paul could take a look forward in time a couple of thousand years, I
think he'd probably wonder if we're still reading his letter we call 1
Corinthians. We still fight that temptation, don't we, to hide in the
Church of Me from the debt we have to love each other? Sometimes,
maybe, we don't even fight it. We run to it, grab hold of it, and find
security in it.
If you've ever wanted to hold on to traditions or ministries you like,
even when they interfere with the lost hearing the gospel or fellow
Christians growing closer to Christ, then you've felt the pull of the
Church of Me.
If you've ever resisted learning to appreciate (or tolerate) new
styles -- or old styles -- of worship music because they aren't your
style, even though some of your brothers and sisters in Christ are
clearly encouraged and finding in them a language in which they can
worship God more intuitively, then you've felt the pull of the Church
of Me.
If you've ever resisted getting to know a brother or sister because you
weren't comfortable with him or her, then you've felt the pull of the
Church of Me.
If you've ever been quick to demand service from church and slow to
offer yourself to provide one, you've felt the pull of the Church of
Me.
So what do we do about it? It's simple, in theory if not in practice.
In Jesus' church, we have to check "Me" at the door. We remind
ourselves, over and over, that it's about Jesus and his Body, not about
Me. It's about how we fit in with Jesus' work in the world, not about
how it fits in with Me. We take the risk of putting our interests aside
and tending to the best interests of our sisters and brothers,
believing that they will be tending to our interests and that, even if
our interests get lost along the way, our Lord will not overlook our
sacrifices.
The Lord. It will help us to remember that the church is his property,
that he bought it with his blood and that if we are a part of it there
is no hiding from our debt to him and to his people.
We need a pronoun change. The church is about Him and Us. Never Me.
---------
(c) 2008 Patrick D. Odum <p.d.odum@gmail.com>.
RELATED LINKS:
* A Selfish Christian
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200708/20070802_selfishchristian.html
* Removing the Selfish Part of Me
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200610/20061020_selfishpart.html
* It's Not About Me
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200710/20071003_AboutME.html
* Faith Web
http://faithnet.faithsite.com
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200808/20080809_churchofme.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
LOOK GREAT, FEEL GREAT: 12 KEYS TO ENJOYING A HEALTHY LIFE NOW, by Joyce Meyer
Joyce guides us to a healthier way of living, reminding us that turning
every issue over to God gives us the strength to make lasting changes.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?250
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