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God has been leading me down a path the last couple of years and I didn't even recognize it.  He stripped away the material "stuff".   The house that got foreclosed, the car that got repossessed, the bankruptcy, even friendships  ...and He got us back to our ROOTS.  It's like He's been saying all along, "None of that matters.  NONE OF IT.  It's just 'stuff.'  All that matters is my work."

And He's right! (like He's ever WRONG!)

I honestly could care less if I lived out the rest of my years in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER.  As long as my wife and kids have a roof over our heads and we're doing His Work, what difference does it really make how we live?

That's where it is starting to bother me.  As Christians, WHEN did we ever let church become BIG BUSINESS?  Yeah, yeah, I know.  The church has bills that have to be paid, too.

But, I mean, get REAL.  Do we really need all the STUFF?  Did God REALLY say, somewhere along the way, "Please pour millions of dollars into a giant building, and expensive equipment, fancy church-buses, and flashy bling-bling," when there are churches that meet in warehouses, movie theaters, and outdoors?

Let's stop and ask ourselves.  If Jesus were physically present on the earth in this day and age, would he have a multi-million dollar building?  I can't say for sure, but I would bet my LIFE on the fact that the answer would be a resounding, "HELL, NO."

So, where did we get off track?  And how did we get to the point where we worried too much about bringing in the "numbers" that we lost sight of building actual one-on-one relationships with those IN THE CHURCH?

I'm not talking about Sunday School or Pot-Luck Suppers.... Those are all feeble, yet noble attempts, that are literally just band-aids on the bigger wound. 

 I'm talking about our concentration NOT having to be so absorbed by meeting the budget that we actually have time to pick up the phone and call people and say, "Hey, how have you been?  Let's have lunch and talk."

You only have SO MUCH energy and 24 Hours in any given day.  And your Energy and Time are going to be divided amongst your various activities.  WHAT activities are entirely up to you.

I'm talking about all of us as Christians caring so much that we spend more time OUT of the church, loving on people as Christ commanded, than we do IN the church, pouring over the spreadsheets and having brainstorming meetings trying to figure out how to get more people into the church.

Let's take care of the relationships with those we HAVE before we worry about those we don't have.  When those on the outside see how much you are loving on those on the inside, they will WANT SOME OF IT, I assure you, and you won't have to actively pursue them as much!

And I've been guilty, and so has Tristan, of not loving people the way we should.  Of being guilty of the same things that I sit here and accuse the modern-day church of.  But, now we've realized that we can't necessarily change other Christians or how they think.  It's hard, if not almost impossible, to change an entire mindset of a group of people!

I dunno, I guess I just sit and watch people walk into the Mission daily.  People who have NOTHING.  People who are in transition from homelessness to moving into a housing project apartment and having a roof over their heads at night again for the first time in years.  And they're grateful for anything you can give them.   That old pillow that's stained and lumpy?  Sure beats NOT having a pillow under your head at night.

And I've never seen people more appreciative.

We live in such a VAIN SOCIETY.  From our fancy churches to our nice houses.  And we've completely missed the point.

IT DOESN'T MATTER.  It's supposed to be about leading people to God, and loving on them, and taking care of those in need.

And I'm sick.  Sick of the way we ALL have acted. 

And I'm ready for CHANGE.