Church: It's Not About You!

I was early for a high school graduation ceremony. While seated in the pew of a downtown Grand Rapids church, I thumbed through the songbook. Pleasantly surprised to find a familiar tune, I silently followed the crescendoing notes. Holy, Holy, Holy!

But I stumbled on the next phrase. Unfamiliar. Something about the God of creation. Confused, I hummed the first phrase again, searching my memory for the rest of the line.

And then . . . horror!

They took the Lord God Almighty out of Holy, Holy, Holy! Unbelievable. The audacity.

Full of judgment, I sat there and stewed. Until that eye beam swung around and clobbered me. See, we’re guilty of something similar.

People whom I respect challenge that we often sideline Jesus in our churches. We haul Him out when we need Him—kind of like a mascot. But we don’t make Jesus monarch (Christ is All by David Bryant). Some Sundays we never even mention Jesus’ name in our worship services, not even in a song. That according to a friend who regularly serves as a guest pastor in my denomination.

This friend grieves for the Church. The book of Colossians supports his conviction that the North American Church needs a fresh awareness of Jesus. I can hear him shout to us: “Church! It’s not about you. It’s about Jesus.”

What about that? What are we doing with Jesus? Is He more of a mascot in our lives? Or is He Lord?

What if we prayed for God the Father to give us His heart toward His Son? What if we loved Jesus as much as God does? How would the relationship change us? Change our churches? Our community? Our world?

Let’s try it for the next month. Say with me: Abba . . . I desire to have your heart toward your son, Jesus. I want this relationship to deepen.

Amen. So let it be.

Let the transformation begin.