4 8 15 16 23 42

I have decided to listen how others talk about their church and try to compare it to mine, and I notice a growing trend in the church. Each church, no matter the size, denomination, faith, ethnicity, all care about two things: faith and numbers.

I will cover faith now, and numbers in a second.

Churches have this trend they like to abide by. They want it to be as biblical as possible without forcing anything down any one's throat. Every preacher wants his congregation to leave the sanctuary and feel like they got juiced up with GOD and they blended with the message and the people giving it. The people want to get out of this strong experience with the Holy Spirit and feel like they had a connection with the Word. The band wants to feel like they built a bridge between GOD and congregation to make the ends meet once they reach the mount. Every person inside that building of bricks/stone/dry wall/whatever wants to feel like they each make a piece of the Earthly puzzle. And it's exciting every Sunday!

Then comes the major downfall of most churches...

People look at this and think "Wow, this is amazing! We should share this with everyone!". So the preacher and congregation make a mental bond to focus on numbers. More people means more fun right? The more people you can stuff in that building the better your church is? WRONG! Most churches try to attempt this feat at least one in the lifetime of the church to have the most people possible. Unfortunately, this becomes a bickering war with other churches and a competition to see who can get the most.

The reason that these two are intertwined into one blog is that they are in opposition. You can't focus on both things at once. I don't care if your preacher, youth pastor, musicians, people in the church say you can, you can't. No, you can't. No. No. No. The moment you start thinking, 'the more the merrier', your church will start to lose a lot of faith. You may have thousands and thousands of people, but a much smaller percentage of those will actually know the full word.

This is also evident in something that seems so simple, and a great idea too, CHURCH SIGNS. They say things like "Burn or Perish" or "1 Cross + 3 Nails = Forgiven" or my personal favorite "The church for people who do church". If we post these things up, and it is seen by the masses, that's really a horrible way to express the love of Jesus and his followers. The purpose of the signs, numbers. We post stuff on these signs trying to draw people in, when in turn it actually pushes them farther away.

Well, you are probably sitting there asking yourself, "How can we find a successful medium?" This lies in the greatest commandment, LOVE. If we express love through people we know or don't, people will come. GOD will bring the people, we have to do nothing. They will look at us and want what we have. They will want to experience the happiness we get just by waking up in the morning. It brings satisfaction to everyone! EVERYBODY WINS!!!

"How About All That Paint On Your Chest Sucka!?"

This is the audio version of an earlier blog I posted on! In case you didn't read it, it is the best example of sex in marriage and sex before marriage that I have heard. It really strengthened my views of GOD's creation of us. This was done December 2007 at a Wesleyan Youth Convention. He did a great job, along with his wife (not included in the video). Hope you enjoy it!!

"Religion or Movement?" by Tom Harding

Are you part of this stale drawn-out religion, or are you a part of the movement for the Holy Spirit?

• A religion has a budget, but a movement is resourced by GOD
• A religion has a leader, but a movement has an apostle
• A religion has a board, but a movement is out of control
• A religion is of man, but a movement is of GOD
• A religion is predictable, but a movement is unpredictable
• A religion is manageable, but a movement is chaos
• A religion is controlled, but a movement is a transformation
• A religion has followers, but a movement has participants
• A religion is a happening, but a movement transforms
• A religion is humanity, but a movement is spirit
• A religion makes sense, but a movement is beyond comprehension
• A religion looks for examples, but a movement sets the examples
• A religion is anybody's game, but a movement is led by GOD's anointed
• A religion is reactionary, but a movement is proactive
• A religion is safe, but a movement is risk
• A religion says "That's the way we do it", but a movement says "How can we do this better?"
• A religion appeases, but a movement offends
• A religion is relevant, but a movement is revelation
• A religion is rules, but a movement is a relationship
• A religion is facade, but a movement is genuine
• A religion is repeated, but a movement is unique
• A religion is staffed, but a movement you die for
• A religion counts the cost, but a movement has immeasurable cost
• A religion you cry, but a movement you bleed
• A religion you eat, but a movement you fast
• A religion is cool, but a movement is revolutionary
• A religion is perfect, but a movement is not evaluated
• A religion is directed, but a movement cannot be harnessed
• A religion is marketable, but a movement doesn't need advertise
• A religion is ME, but a movement is GOD