what's it all about?

i have been thinking about this for quite a while now.

what is church all about.
i mean, really. what is the purpose of it all?

i have had some teens look at me like i have three heads when i say how much i love going to church! but i seriously do!

a few reasons i love church:

i love being with other people who are living to please God
i love singing, and i love singing with other people!
i love praying with people
and i love hearing a message from God's Word that challenges and convicts me to be better.

obviously, growing up in a pastor's family (you can read my thoughts on that here.) i have had the opportunity to see a lot of people come into the church...and i have had the opportunity to see a lot of people leave the church.

sometimes it kills me when i hear people complaining about "the church" and the people that are a part of it. because...well. um. you are the church!
the way that the people are acting, is actually the way you and i are acting.

i am not going to take the time to share my views on why people leave the church, i just want to challenge your thinking (since i love to do that so much! ha!) on why people go to church in the first place!

do you go to church:
so you can feel good?
so you can have all your needs met?
so you can leave feeling all warm and fuzzy inside?
so you can justify your lifestyle the rest of the week?
so you can be entertained?

and if you answered yes to any of those questions, can i ask you to maybe rethink your motives?
we watched this little video in sunday school this week, and i just loved it so much that i wanted to share it here with you.

what i love about the video is that it describes what i think my life...our lives should be.

i think it should look like this:

someone sees my life and thinks...wow. she doesn't bash her husband. 
hmm. her kids are obedient and respectful. 
weird. she likes to serve other people...i wonder what that is all about.
and then they decide to get together with me and hear me say that it's not me at all...it's my God. and it's the loving God that wants to do the same thing with her that He's done with me!

see how it looks different now?

it's not bringing someone to a service.
a show.
a production.
a place that they might feel uncomfortable.
and then hoping that they understand it and get it.


it looks like me. bringing my life and the way i live it...straight to them.
at starbucks. or at the basketball game. or at the park.
and showing them the love of Jesus from the perspective of a real. live. person.

that, my friend, is the church.
it is people like you. who are living the life for real. and sharing it with everyone you know.
and it is something we can replicate.
i can not reproduce the emotionalism, the excitement, the lights, the drama of a service.
i can reproduce a sweet amazing experience in the presence of no one else but God.
in my own home every day of the week!
that is something i want everyone to know that they can have!

so my hope is not that in reading my blog you decide maybe i should go to church...necessarily.
my hope is that you would start to think of the church a little bit differently.

if you are one of the ones who search from church to church to find out what is best for you, without thinking about what God might want you to do for them?
stop and think about it. make sure your motives are right. maybe he wants you right where you are, and maybe instead of complaining about things, he wants you to be the one who changes things!

and if you are one of the ones who has never stepped foot in a church? maybe you can start to study out for  yourself what all the fuss is about?

what is this church thing all about anyways?

and if you are one of the ones who is going to church for the sheer love of God and His people?
you go girl! (or guy- ha!)
i am so blessed by the relationships God has brought into my life because of church! people who are real. and are in it for HIM. not for the show, and not for selfish reasons.

so what is this church thing about for me?
it's just one day of the week that i get to show my love for God...that i am already trying to live out every single day of my life.
it's a chance i get to serve people. to sing. to worship. to pray. to grow.

what is this church thing about for you?