What's up people! Happy New Year to everyone. I hope everyone had a great 2014, and I pray that you all will have an even better 2015. I'm intrigued about my first post of the new year, and this is a good and controversial one. With the very touchy subject matter, this again could potentially throw people off and maybe even get me some dislikes because this touches on the one subject most people, especially Christians, don't like to discuss: the apparent downward spiral of the church. Let me begin.
I recently ran across an article that was entitled "The Rise Of The 'Done With Church' Generation." After reading the article, it had dawned on me about how much church has changed. Times have changed to where those that are tired and have grown dismayed over church have decided to leave church altogether, or become what's called a "Doner". As in done with church, though not done with God. One man that was interviewed stated that the reason he was "done" was because he was "tired of being lectured to and being told what to do". While there could be any number of reasons why there are becoming more and more people leaving the church, I'll give my own two cents as to why I think this "Done" generation is increasing its numbers.
Clearly, the church is the backbone of any community, doesn't matter your race, color, or even denomination. The church is traditionally the place to go to get uplifted, inspired, and get fed some good spiritual food to help you along the way. However, as we Earthly, vain people like to do, we like to always put twists and spins on stuff. Let's examine what church really means. The word really means "community", which in turn means that a church is a community of people all brought together for the sake of praise and worship of a higher power. In the Bible, it states that "where two or more are gathered in my name, there shall I also be" (in reference to Jesus). Therefore, based on that scripture, two people could be considered a "church", at least in terms of the original definition. Somewhere along life's existence, man saw fit to divide into sections, thus called denominations. We have quite a few different types of denominations, whether they're Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic, Moravian, or many others, all proclaim to be the correct denomination in terms of how to serve God. Already, that in itself is a problem. Even Non-Denomination is pretty much considered a denomination of sorts. This is where I'm confused. The Bible didn't state that Jesus was coming back for a specific type of church, He stated that He was coming back for "His church", which meant everyone that believed in Him as a community.
The church is supposed to be inclusive, not turn anyone away as long as their intentions were good and towards the furthering of their relationship with God, or if they need to experience who God is. The problem, one of many, is that WE as man has put statutes on what should and shouldn't be within our churches. I've become so very jaded about church for a little while now because I feel everyone is missing the point. There was a story that shocked a lot of people and provided some validity about why church is becoming so scrutinized. There was a man who had died that belonged to a church, but the church would not bury the man because he never paid his tithes in church. How incredibly insensitive and stupid can you be? There have many other ugly stories within church about greed, affairs, politics, and preachers giving members of the congregation HIV and still continuing to preach. What is sincerely going on? The Catholic church has been under heavy investigation for years concerning molestation claims with young boys but to also have all types of other idiotic and certainly unholy, mess is outrageous so I can see why so many people, especially young adults, have had it. Even those close to me have encountered unfair treatment by their own church for outside ventures that were paying good money to perform. Keep in mind, this man was/is a preacher and a musician, but because he performed jazz music in a restaurant, he was reprimanded by his own church and was suspended from preaching AT HIS OWN CHURCH for a couple of months. Dumbest thing ever right? Church people can REALLY get on my nerves because it becomes less about God and more about self-serving and self-interpreting necessities.
People get tired of also going to church to see a show. What do I mean? In the Black church, especially from what I've seen and encountered, shouting, or dancing under the power of the Holy Spirit, has become so common place and expected that it makes one wonder if people are doing it for a show. Why is there always that part of service, and it tends to happen always at the exact same time, when the shouting occurs? Traditionally, it was reserved mostly within the Pentecostal, Apostolic, and Holiness faith, but now everyone and everyone's church does it. This is no shade to anyone, this is just curiosity. I've done it myself and can tell you that it was from an experience and not an encounter I have every single day. Now in the church, it's become customary to the point of it becoming cliche, like you're expected to do it. Truthfully if I wanted a show, I'd watch Bobby Jones Gospel or Sunday Best (don't get me started about that show either).
Most 'Doners" are fed up with cliches, lectures about what will send them to hell that's never even mentioned in the Bible, and preachers living double lives. I could really piss people off about what the Bible tells us and how we twist them around for our own self-righteousness, but these "Doners" have every right to feel the way they feel about church nowadays. The church has become full of gossip stories instead of encouragement, and has become so full of cliches that it looks like a reality show in person. Let's not mention how certain churches treat people that don't have the required ten percent from earned income every Sunday (or Saturday if you're a Seventh-Day Adventist) and how they scorn you and ridicule you. For a long time the homosexual community was isolated and singled out because of their lifestyle, regardless of the fact that they served God and they knew God was still with them.
The question is, what's the answer to these people leaving the pews? Simple. Start treating them as flawed human beings. No better or worse than you. Ask them how church could help them. Stop being religious and start getting real. Bring back the community aspect and the down to earth nature of church. Church should be a community that's less about politics, who's the best dressed, who's sleeping with who, and all this stuff that is nowhere near Biblical, and more about the family, the marriage, and the sense of knowing that one is loved unconditionally. Churches, you're losing more than you're gaining. Embrace the principles of love and fellowship. Half of you preachers don't deserve to be preachers to begin with, but then again it's also starting to become big business plus it's a tax write-off. However to those that believe in what true church is, keep up the great work.
I know there will be some people that will continue to excuse and take up for the church and all they do because of their bias, and that's fine. They're within their right to do so. Just now, for you not speaking up about these things that are affecting the community as a whole, blood is on your hands too. I'm not anti-God, not in the least bit, I'm not even totally anti-church, but I'm anti-churches that play into cliches, falsehoods, political agendas WITHIN CHURCH ITSELF, and exclusion. Keep in mind, this is all my opinion so I'm more than entitled to it but please understand, the problem, churches, may not be these people being "heathens" or just being defiant of the church, the problem may just be YOU.
That's all for now folks. Until next time, keep celebrating the new year, and strive to be better than 2014.
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