GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING

God knows what he is doing. Mankind are the idiots. Why do I say this? Simple really and I am sure you will agree with me when I explain what is happening.

I am reading Michael Green’s book “Adventure of Faith” and in his chapter on modern day society, he was saying that post modernism has produced a me, myself and I mentality and a total distrust for authority and institutions.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the church, one of the institutions that are being shunned, has chosen to ignore this fact and gone on its own merry way, reorganizing the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Or, its message is we are what we are so you have to deal with us on our terms, which of course people won’t do anymore.

Enter God. If people think that they can do without the church, that is if it is the church and not a religious organization, all God has to do is remove their objections.

So what does he do? He brings about a church that is not a church. In reality it is the church, not the religion which post modern man is so opposed to. He removes the need for paid clergy and expensive buildings. He removes religious ritual and man’s control. He removes meetings and replaces them with meetings of mind and spirit.

What makes it different or unique? It is known by many names but I will use one to embrace them all. It is the church in the home. You know just like they had in the New Testament. The one that changed the world.

With the church in the home, you no longer have to invite people to come to a “meeting”. You invite them to join a few friends for a meal. You are invited to meet real people with real personalities, who experience the same joys and suffering as you do. In other words, down to earth living, the sort that you don’t address in “meetings.”

You are not told that you have to attend certain meetings to be a member. You are not told that you have to believe this or believe that to be accepted. You are not told that the man at the top is the one who calls the shots.

The overwhelming message is “all one in Christ Jesus.” We are all in this together and come rain or shine we will always be there for you.

Special buildings…gone. Authority structures…gone. Authority figures…gone. Ministry by the select few…gone. Pew warmers…gone. Constant appeals for money…gone. Never ending activity…gone.

In essence what we are talking about here is the perfect environment for the post modern man (and woman). It means that we don’t have to make apologies for religion, because we are not involved in it.

And before you start on the “but no one is perfect theme”, we agree with you totally. Mistakes will happen. People will get hurt. Some will say it is not for them. Theology may not be all nicely packaged and uniform. Relationships may demand what we don’t want to give.

None of this detracts from the fact it is God who is doing it and it is marvelous in our eyes. After all, it was his original plan in the first place.