A VOICE TO THE WORLD

Thought provoking topic huh? Many people without hesitation would quickly, boldly, and unapologetically respond to that question with a resounding  “YES”. But, I’m lead to ask why are so many of today’s youth asking this very question with a sincere heart and seeking truth? As a young person who grew up in the inner city where gang violence, drug addiction, prostitution, and police brutality were the norm, I often found myself asking the same question. When people would come into my neighborhood passing out tracts and talking to us about coming to their church my response would always be the same. If you have this God that is so good, why are you wanting us to come to your building just to hear about him?

Looking back, I now realize where the disconnect was. The people were coming to reach us in the name of their church, rather than coming to us as the church. BIG DIFFERENCE! Many times, I still see this happening. If we’re not careful, we will do more harm than good. From the outside looking in, many young people see the church as a bunch of old people who gather together, sing songs that have no significance to their circumstance, and give their money to a man who drives the newest Cadillac around their impoverished communities.

Truthfully, sometimes, I wonder if local church congregations even realized how out of touch they are with these kids that are craving more. As a former youth pastor, I’ve had numerous tough conversations with adults about getting on to kids about things that were not important. For example (chewing gum inside the church building, wearing a hat during service, the clothes they wore) etc. It’s very important to understand that more is caught than taught. If they are ran off behind non sense like that then we will never have the opportunity for them to catch it.

Still the question remains. Do I really need church? Well it all depends on how you define church. The word church comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly” or “called out ones”. The root meaning of church is not that of a building, but of people. According to the Bible, the church is the body of Christ-all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation (John 3:16; 1Corinthians 12:13). So my answer would have to be “YES” we need church. It was the church who invaded the darkness of my life, met me where I was without judgement, discipled and equipped me, helped restore my true identity, and sent me out to do for others what was done for me. All that happened within the body, and is continuing to happen for millions across the world daily.