WHAT IF?

[originally sent on Dec. 14th, 2005 to the subscribers of the subversive underground e-newsletter]

WHAT IF? by Keith Giles

What if Churches stopped meeting on Sundays?

Imagine if, instead of getting up early, throwing on your best clothes and running to a service every Sunday morning, Churches met every single morning and throughout every day, on into the evening.

Stay with me here.

What if Church met on Monday morning at your work, and on Tuesday night in line at the Grocery Store, and on Wednesday afternoon at McDonalds during lunch? What if Church met on the sidewalk, in the cubicle at work, with the single Mom who doesn't know how she's going to feed her kids this week, or with that homeless person you see outside the 7-11?

Shouldn't Church meet in these places? Shouldn't worship be something that takes place every single day, of every single week, at every single hour? Wouldn't it give life to the words, "Be ready in season and out"?

The truth is, you and I, we are the Church. We are unable to critique or to criticize or to praise the idea of Church without having it reflect back on us, because we are the Church, the Bride of Christ.

When you're in the car, so is the Church. When you're playing with your kids in the backyard, so is the Church, when you're talking with your neighbor about life, so is the Church.

I think this is actually the way God always intended for His Church to operate. I think God expects us to worship him 24 hours a day, with all our lives, and in every situation, no matter how mundane or "un-spiritual" it might seem.

Remember, you are an eternal spiritual being having a temporary physical experience, not the other way around.

C.S. Lewis admonished us to realize that we, the followers of Jesus, do not have the right to operate any longer as "mere men" but as transformed agents of the Living God.

The offering plates aren't big enough to receive all that God wants from you, because He doesn't want or need your money, He wants all of you, and all of your time, and all of your life.

This is, of course, part of why Wendy and I are feeling called to the House Church model. We both long to "be" the Church and not to simply "do" Church.

I love this quote by A.W. Tozer: “We must not think of the Church as an anonymous body, a mystical religious abstraction. We Christians are the Church and whatever we do is what the Church is doing. The matter, therefore, is a personal one. Any step forward in the Church must begin with the individual.”

As we prepare to move forward in this calling, we prayerfully ask God for wisdom and direction. So much of this is unknown to us, yet we are certain this is where God has placed us and how He wants us to serve.

Some of you have responded to me directly to encourage us, or to share your own personal struggles and story with us. For that we are very, very grateful. It's good to know we're not alone in this mission.

More later.

*I promised updates to the blog this week and there are two there now. Go see:
http://subversive1.blogspot.com

You lucky people get this 'bonus' article/thought, so Merry Christmas!

peace,
kg
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