27 Oct A Church Divided: Putting away the old…

That’s a “Black Church”, was the statement a former acquaintance of mine told me one day when we were discussing churches. I told him about a particular Church I use to go to and was member of. He said he was speaking to someone who told him that it was a “Black Church”.

Because I am somewhat knowledgeable about religion and how it relates to demographics, a “White Church” or a “Black Church” was never really “existed” in my mind. I knew demographics of religions. A Mormon Church by and large would not have many members of various nationalities and colors. The demographics and the environment, for where you predominately see a Mormon Church presence, speaks to this.  Those who practice Catholicism is made up predominately of different White and Latin ethnicities. Northern and Western, and Southern Baptist Churches are largely made up of largely Black participants.  But the terms Black Church or White Church was not terminology I used. Instead, I’m going to focus on why those two terms still exist. We all know there is only “one body” and that is the body of Christ. We also know he died for all, Jews and Gentiles, Gentiles representing the others. The others are the category most of us fall in.

We are the others. We were the ones who had to wait at the gates and weren’t allow inside the sanctuary due to us being the “others“. Close relationship with God was strictly guarded by the Jewish elect. When Christ came and peeled back the layers and fully revealed Gods plan for all of mankind, it was a tremendous culture shock. Not only did it put Gentiles on the same level as Jews spiritually, it also meant that they were spiritually equal. They would no longer have to go to the Jews get access to God, they were able to go to God themselves for access. This was a wonderful thing if you were a Gentile, because you no longer had to make a 3 or 4 day journey depending on your proximity to the Temple, in order to worship or receive atonement from God. God had now made himself available to everyone right where they lived. He was now just a prayer away. An ever-present help in the time of need. With this freedom and liberty that Christ bestowed upon us also bought with it something else, it lessened the importance of the Jews as it relates to the rest of the World. They could no longer “own” God.

They could no longer wield the kind of influence and control over the people like they once had. Jews and Gentiles. The people were now free to worship God without the burdens the were bestowed upon them by the Religious leaders. Always having their hands out seeking a gift of some kind, believing it was their right to not only look for one, but to seek for one. They no longer had the power of dictate Gods word to the people in a manner that would push their agenda and bring an increase to their lives, and not to what was expedient for God and his people.

They could no longer prop themselves up as Teachers over the people as they did for decades, because there were now greater Teachers in the land. Ones that came wielding power. The kind of Power that only comes from God. What was once significant, had now become insignificant, and Jesus had now become the focal point of the entire nation. They were no longer in control of his ship that they’ve been spinning around in circles for decades. When the long-awaited Captain had shown up to take command of his ship and to take the wheel, they created a mutiny and had the Captain killed, so they could continue steering the ship to their destination of choosing. As Jesus increased, they decreased. As the Apostles became famous throughout the land, they had become forgotten. They could no longer keep the one thing that made them special and made them exalt themselves over others for. And that was God. God had opened himself up to all. Now no one could hold power over anyone by using him as their weapon.

The Temples of God now had a much different look to them. I’m not talking about the infrastructure of the buildings; I’m talking about the people. Gods design for the entire nation to worship one God was being implemented. He was no longer segregating himself to the Jews. Christ made it possible for access to all who desired a close intimate relationship with him. Things were changing, and many in Israel were fatally against it! And ineffective the old way was compared to the new way that was now established, most still wanted to stick to what they knew. “What we know”, even if inefficient, becomes a strong hold in our lives. When you know what to expect, your life becomes easier to manage, and especially easier to control. Israel was walking into something new, something they were not able to control. Something they were not familiar with.

This blog is not a history lesson on how resistant Israel was towards the Gentile’s being grafted into the body of Christ. These things are well documented in the book of “Acts”. But the spirit of that resistance, is still living and breathing today. I’ve literally gone to Churches, that did not reflect the demographics of the Town or City that it resides in. Somehow a Church headed by a black Pastor ends up with an all-black congregation, and a Church headed by a white Pastor ends up with an all-white congregation.

Both Pastors, only blocks away, don’t speak to one another. In actuality, they’re in competition with one another. This is one of Christianity’s dirty little secrets. Pastors competing against other Pastors for members, big buildings and vacant lots. It is amazing to witness a small church of 20 members, balloon to a staggering 5000. That is an awesome thing to witness. Then to see 5000 members climb to over 15000 is not short of wonderful! I think the problem begins early on. At some point we start thinking that what God has giving us charge over, belongs to us. That is the only way Churches can be competing against other Churches. The people who are in charge of running their respective Church, believes it is theirs, and since it is theirs, they want theirs to be the best.

Ministry does not belong to us. God is not in competition with himself. God is not concerned about the numbers as it relates to Church membership, he concerned about the numbers and it relates to genuine worship. A Church of 25000 may have only 4000 members who are genuinely seeking God with a whole heart. A Church of “500” may only have 75. So, God is not caught up on membership numbers. He’s more interested in who is really seeking his face.

We are in competition with one another, just like the World. Most of us seek our own interest first, just like the World. Most of our Churches, look just like the World. A Church that resides in a Town, that has a pretty diverse demographic, should reflect the Towns environment in which it stands. What I have found is that you can have 3 different Churches in that Town, and all 3 different ethnic and racial types, all go to separate Churches. We are practicing voluntary segregation in the body of Christ. One body, one blood, but we have people who are still “clinging” on to the old way of doing things. Matthew 25 verses 32-35 shows what it will be like when the Lord come into glory.  “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats”.  “He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left”.  “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”. 

So, it’s well with Christ that we should be gathered, and all his people shall be gathered together. This gathering is not race, ethnic, or nationality specific. It is a gathering of those who have been saved under the covenant of his blood. It is a gathering, of those who belongs to him. It is a “family” gathering. That’s what the body of Christ is. Is God’s spiritually adopted Family, that was made possible by what Christ did for us on the cross. He did not die for us to be “gathered” but separate. The Bible does not say that. We have gathered ourselves to a building, and to a neighborhood of people who look like us, even if it means we will also be residing and living amongst the goats.

That is why Christ must do the final separation. He would not need to separate his sheep from the goats, if his sheep would gather amongst themselves and depart from the goats. But we are “comfortable” amongst the goats. If we were not so prejudice, judgmental and fearful of one another, then the Lord would not have to do the separation. Due to our own internal prejudices, we are not able to recognize family from stranger, so Jesus must do the dividing at the end. There is comfort in gathering with those who share the same or similar cultural traditions and understandings. But those in Christ have now been called to a new tradition with new understandings, that supersede the old traditions and understandings. We must put away the old and make way for the new. Jesus has stripped us of our citizenship here and has provided us a visa into the Kingdom. 

We are no longer “of this world” and it’s ways of doing things, as said in John 15:19 (“If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world”).  He has called us away from the old way of doing things. Sticking to what’s familiar to us and what’s comfortable, that us, is the World’s way of doing things. We have been called to Faith, that is expecting the unexpected because God is now in charge of our lives. God is not predictable. Outside of his promises to us by faith, we never know what he’s going to do next. But you’ll never get Gods best, if you stick to what you’re comfortable with. You must let go of your old way of thinking, and the way the world has programmed us to think and let God’s way of thinking become who we are and what we do. The Church is not just a building where we go to worship. It is a place of gathering. of Gods earthly family, to uplift, encourage, share, and provide for one another. In doing this we Worship God all the more.