Fake Church

**This blog is saturated with scripture. I chose not to quote directly because I want to encourage you to dig deep into the Word. Read this with a Bible next to you. Read the verses and challenge yourself to think differently. Be honest with yourself; live it out. Love God // Love People.

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“Welcome to church, where we sing songs and don’t mean it, say that we serve and love others but never do it, read the Bible but don’t apply it, pray for the Holy Spirit but ignore it, and stay cooped up and happy in our little church building so we don’t have to share our faith or confront the reality of this world.”

The pastor flashes a million-dollar smile in his thousand-dollar suit as members of the congregation beam back their own smiles.

“We’re all perfect here, and we don’t need anybody but ourselves to be happy. The world outside of these doors is dirty and messy and full of sinners. Who wants to deal with that when we can live in comfort here?”

A few “amen’s” resonate from the well-dressed crowd.

The pastor recites a perfectly scripted and rehearsed prayer as the band walks on stage, their guitars and microphones glittering in the perfectly positioned lighting. The pastor finishes his prayer, cueing the band to start the first perfectly executed song of the set list. Every member of the congregation sings and claps their hands to the rhythm of the song. Church ends precisely one hour and ten minutes after the start of the service, and members of the congregation walk out of the sanctuary as the star guitarist wails on his quilt-top Les Paul, notes sailing from his four ten-inch speakers.

Does any of this sound familiar? Perhaps not initially, but it’s clear that this is a problem that plagues modern-day churches. The Fake Christians. The people that say and do all of the “right” things, but never get their hands dirty or even mention the name of Jesus outside of the walls of their beloved church sanctuary. They only practice their “faith” in order to feel better about themselves and in hopes of reserving a spot for themselves in heaven (Matt. 7:21-23).

Christianity has become a term used to describe an organization composed of hypocrites – the people who are “perfect” and unforgivably selfish. Ask any non-Christian you know what they think of “Christians”, and you’ll likely get a negative answer. Christians don’t make sacrifices or really live out their faith. They read this great book called The Bible, but they never seem to do a word of what is said in it (James 1:22-25; Matt. 7:16-20, 24-27; 21:43; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). They claim to follow an extreme and fanatical homeless radical named Jesus, but they don’t look or act anything like Him (James 2:14-26; 4:4).

Can I ask something of you? Don’t be a Fake Christian. If you are going to claim to be a follower of Christ, live like it (1 John 1:6; 2:6; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:7-9; Luke 9:23-25; 1 Cor. 10:31; Gal. 2:20-21; Eph. 5:1; Col. 2:6-7). Christianity has become more of a swear word than a title for lovers of Christ, and it wrecks my heart. Why is it that a community (well, sort of) of believers has become the poster child for all things hypocritical and fake? There should never be a question of authenticity if you are doing your best to live your life like the One who redeemed you. When you are madly in love with your Father, it is clear to outsiders that you actually love the Lord. Jehovah’s Witnesses work ten times as hard as we do to get their message out. Muslims pray five times as much as we do. Why are Christians the ones who like to pretend that they are something that they’re not?

Every day is made brand new because of Him. He forgives us for our stupid mistakes, and He allows us to have another chance at living for Him. Let’s use this opportunity to redefine church and the “Christian” faith.

If we were to start over – to scrap every notion of the modern-day church and what it stands for – and create a Biblically-based church, what would it look like? What would it look like if we actually did what the Bible asks of us; what if we actually lived like Jesus?

                                                 
                                                                         Francis Chan: Is This Really Church?

There are four things that I believe are absolutely integral to having a real and authentic church (and a worship band and exciting visuals are not included). The first priority of a church, as seen in the New Testament, is to love one another; fellowship with one another. Stop loving with words and begin loving in action and in truth (1 John 3:18; John 15:12). Second, the church must focus on getting the word out. If we truly believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then why are we not shouting this good news from the rooftops? We need to share the gospel and the gift of salvation with everyone we know, from our neighborhood to the far reaches of the globe (Matt. 28:19-20). We must live with true faith and live it out. Third, it is essential for the church to have dependence on the Holy Spirit. So many Christians talk about having the Spirit, but few of them actually go through with the things they are asked to do. We should pray to be lead by the Spirit in all we do (1 Cor. 2:10-14; Romans 8).  And the final element of a true church is communion. It seemed like everywhere the disciples went they had communion together. They broke bread and drank wine, looked each other in the eye, and told each other “He died for us”. We need to spend time as the body (Rom. 12:4-8) in observing the sacrifice He made to save our souls.

Numbers don’t matter when it comes to church. When two are more are gathered in His name, church happens. We don’t need star speakers or a stellar worship band. We don’t need fancy PowerPoint slides or childcare. We don’t need a huge congregation in order to be successful. We don’t need a stage or even a building (1 Cor. 3:7-11). We don't need to have church or do church – we need to be the Church. All we need are other people and His word. We need to love God and love each other.

“If we were stranded on a desert island with nothing but a Bible, is this [church] what we would come up with?” –Francis Chan

If the Bible is sacred, we should live like it is. It is time we live Biblically centered lives – fighting on our knees every day and growing ever closer to God and to each other. It’s not easy, but it’s right.