Hang on til the end, it does get better :)

One thing has become painfully obvious to me and Ashley as we have spent the past 3 years traveling, raising support. – The church as a whole does not care about missions. Now, before I get negative comments, there are some awesome churches out there with some awesome people that are really selling themselves out for Christ and His call in our lives but the truth is, most aren\’t.

Do you know how many times I have heard, \” We are on a missions budget freeze right now\” ? What? The ONE thing that Christ has called us to do in our lives as Christians, the sole purpose we exist and we are going to \”put it on hold\” because it doesn\’t \”fit in our budget\”? How did we go from Acts 2:41-47 to \”it doesn\’t fit in our budget\”?

I have never seen one of those churches stop paying an electric bill so their building can have a comfortable enviroment, I\’ve not seen them quit paying people to cut their grass and trim their bushes, I\’ve not seen them cut all other non-gospel related programs so they can focus on getting the Gospel out. Really though, can we blame them? Would you go to a church with no A/C? How about a church that didn\’t have any pretty flowers, nice buildings and seats with cushions? Why would you want to go to a church like that?

It is obvious, those things are MUCH more important to us and to a lot of Pastors and church leaders than the Gospel. If it weren\’t, why would they allow it to take precendence over getting the Gospel out? BUT if the church did do those things, we wouldn\’t attend which means there would be no \”tithe\” to fund anything. So yes, the problem does exist at the corporate level of the church and I\’m going to bring it back full circle in a minute but really the issue is with us, after all, WE are the church – not a building with 4 walls. When was the last time you gave sacrficially? I don\’t mean the extra, I mean what you DON\’T have to give the Gospel? To reach out to those that need it? When was the last time you picked up your cross and died DAILY to make sure that Christs\’ name was glorified and made known among the nation? I have been convicted of this lately, Ashley and I have both done everything and given and given and given to a young couple to pour out the love of Christ, we have been told, \” They need a professional, be careful, know you limits, don\’t get too vested, make sure your family is taken care of first, etc\” Those sound like great things with awesome advice…but….What does Jesus say? He said things like, \” you must HATE your family, give it ALL, sell EVERYTHING, give your whole life and all your time\”.

That is what is wrong with the church, we don\’t care enough about Jesus to live, love and act like him so the rest of the world can KNOW him.

I was in a meeting the other night, with great people and a great message, the question was asked,\” Why aren\’t we more like the believers in vietnam who risk their life in dirty shanties to worhsip and share Christ\”….my response was my wholehearted belief, because we don\’t care. Another person said, well, I don\’t think it\’s that we don\’t care I think it is because of sin and distractions in our life….everyone seemed much more pleased with that answer and that was what was being taught…..hold on…wait….rewind….did we really just blame something else for this? So we are wasting our lives as Christians and it\’s \”sins\” fault? The truth is, as followers of Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin but we are free in Christ. Yes, if those things are in our life -it is sin BUT we ALLOW it because we are no longer enslaved to it…..the truth is we don\’t care enough about Christ and what he has done for us and the calling he has placed in our life to not be overtaken with sin and waste our lives in this miserable, pathetic \”american\” version of our Christian culture.

Why is this? This is were I am taking it back to the church as an institution….we are not being taught these truths in our churches…when was the last time you were told to give everything you had to get the Gospel out…not to \”make sure your family is taken care of first\”? (I\’ll go ahead and say here that I am all about taking care of your family but when it takes place of what Christ has called us to do it is SIN. There is nothing I can do to take care of my family that Christ cant do better)

The main institution of the church was to teach the Word and edify believers….if the church did it\’s job, we would NOT need seminaries and Bible colleges.

The reason america is no longer considered a Christian nation is because we really don\’t care about getting the message of Christ to the lost. We are too busy blaming everything else instead of realizing that WE are to blame. I\’m sure I have made some people mad here but let me ask you this…..when was the last time we spent 2 weeks, over $1000, and almost every second of free time helping someone all in the name of Christ only to be cussed, hated, betrayed, lied too, and told you were a sorry SOB? We give up the first time…..That is why americas version of Christianty is dead. That is why people like Rob Bell and Joel Osteen have a huge voice in this nation and the Matt Chandlers, Mark Driscolls and David Platts are listened to by the few.

It is so sad to see people who call themselves Christians not doing the single thing that the one they claim to follow told us to do! No, we are pathetic, selfish, 3 time a week building-fillers that think we are something because of a denomination we belong to or because we gave $30 to a child in Africa for a month (yet spent over $500 on food alone for ourselves).

I have become so discouraged by christians, that is why I want NOTHING to do with the Christ that MOST of us represent. I have fallen out of the idea that the church is where it is and am beginning to fall more and more in love with Christ everyday.

Now, I am not saying in anyway that I am above this or better than anyone else. I have been a part of this my whole life. Realisitically, prior to 2 weeks ago, I had never given my all, all the time for Christ. I have lived my life in that idea that Jesus really just wants to bless us and make us happy. I have been a sad example to many in how to be Christ to the world. Now that I see that, I don\’t want anything else to do with it. I want to be everything that Christ wants me to be, I am disgusted with myself and how I have lived my life with this half way in lifestyle.

I want to be the person that loves Casey Anthony and lives Christ to her, not the one wishing \”judgement\” on her. I want to die daily, I want to suffer for Christ, I want to endure hardships – if it means his name is glorified. I have just come to this point, I am still learing, still failing….the other day I told Ashley, I was sick of it and wished God had never brought them into our life…..but I was given the grace to get up and go back to them and now….he is a different man then I met 2 weeks ago…..he said this to me the other day, \” You guys remind me of this movie I saw about Jesus were these people were mean to him and hated him and he kept coming back to them and loving them, that\’s what you guys remind me of\” – That made it all worth it…..he caught a glimpse of Christ in my life and His name was glorified!