The other day Josiah (my 4 year old son) were in the car and he asked me a question. This isn't abnormal behavior. The boy is full of questions. He loves music and songs so he often asks what certain lyrics are. One of his favorite genres to listen to is 90's early 2000's rap. I do have to be careful though, one day he asked me what "hood rats" are. That one was tough to explain. But I enjoy the challenge. I don't like to shield him much from things he'll encounter when he's older.
*****And from this point forward, none of this is new from me. I talk about the american church and all the things I have reservations about it. So don't be alarmed. I also didn't reread this the whole way through or edit any of it from grammatical errors. I rarely do that anyway. Sometimes I don't even remember what I wrote about. But when I read it later I surprise myself. ******
This time he asked me a most difficult one. He said he's learning about God. I told him that's great, so was I. That's when it came...."Daddy, How do you learn about God?"
Yikes.
I told him I'd think about it and tell him my answer later. How do you learn about something you can't prove to everybody? How do you learn about something that presents itself differently to everybody? How do you learn about something that's ways are above our ways?
Seriously asking here.
You can read about God. But how do you know it's accurate. And don't give me that trust that the bible is the truth skabula. That's not going to cut it. Especially when you tell me men will fail you. Thousands of men wrote and rewrote the bible to the format it's in today. So how am I supposed to trust all those men? Were they following God's call? So was Kim Davis. Try again.
You can experience something you might deem supernatural. And you'll learn a little bit. But I believe that experience was for you and you alone. Because if you share that story with me, and I haven't had an experience like that. I might try to emulate you, to see if I can get that God experience. And then I wouldn't be following God, I'd be following you to try to find God. And remember, humans fail. Every. Time. (That's biblical)
Can you learn about God from church. I'm pretty sure I've been talking about that pretty intensely lately. Let's start with the American church. And these are generalizations, I know your church might not be this way.
-A building (or several) that probably has a lot of debt.
- A paid staff. Experts say that 50% of your tithe is usually going towards staff costs. Large churches more like 40% and start up churches as much as 90%.
- Huge paved parking lots with lots of brand new cars. And sometimes some really nice ones. Including one of those three wheeled motorcycles.
- Some of the big ones might even have a gym.
- Almost all of them have a large community gathering room with a kitchen.
- And most of the church is vacant %95 percent of the time.
Looks a lot like the culture in america. We probably have a house with debt. We hire people to do work. We like our toys with wheels. We obsess over our bodies. You get the point. The american church looks just like....americans. Is that what God looks like? Yes. I think?
So maybe we should go back to the bible. Is that version of the church in scripture? Love God. Love people. True religion, care for orphans and widows. I'd even say that in our days of men and women being more equal. Women do a really good job of taking care of themselves. Some are still dependent on their spouses income, or a dual income. At least here in america. I think when this was written, women were more like property. Care for orphans and those who have lost their primary supporter.
Here in america, we have an orphan crisis. I'm sure I have a real gem of a friend that can elaborate more on that. But we typically treat orphans here in america by shooting them or putting them in jail.
There are lots of organizations that sponsor kids worldwide, which is great.
I think before the church does anything, why not start with taking care of orphans? Why the need for the building expansion. If the church mostly ignores the plight of orphans, is that God?
I know I know I know, men will fail you. So we can't look to humans to teach us about God. So why do we try? Oh, we teach people about God, but don't actually live like God. You know why I can't ever stop writing about this? Because I never get to the end of it.
The most common answer I get. The american church meets americans where they are at. They help them, comfort them, give them community, etc. I get that. But they are still a LOOOONG way away from meeting the needs of the american people. When you have homeless and hungry on the same block as a mega church.....
Jon. If you are so passionate about calling out the church, why don't you do something? Ok. I'm not going to tell you about my list of charity work. But I can assure you, I don't ever feel like I'm doing enough. And as just one guy, it gets really daunting. But if I just had a large group of people that could collectively bring 166 Billion dollars a year to hurting people, that would be great. If people who claimed to be christians donated just ten percent of their income....
Ok...wrapping up for today. Writing about this stuff does NOT help me cope with anxiety, depression and adhd.
Most people tell me the american church exists to meet the needs of american people. And as the church grows, more people will come. This brings in more money to send more money out. Sort of like trickle down economy. But I just don't see that happening.
So. How do you learn about God?
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