#MyChurchIsSoWhite…

So last night a bunch of us played a hashtag game called #MyChurchIsSoWhite.

There were a LOT of good ones thrown out there.

#MyChurchIsSoWhite we have to use juice and "wafers" for communion. Heaven knows we don't need more crackers 😐

— Xian Satirist (@TheXianSatirist) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite whenever a black person visits they think it's one of my wife's relatives… (true story)

— Chris Linzey (@chrislinzey) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite our dreams of a White Christmas come true every year.

— Anonymous Baptist (@anonbaptist) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite we think DCTalk repped the thug life.

— Chris Linzey (@chrislinzey) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite we'll travel 1000s of miles to tell a darker-skinned person abt Jesus but are uncomfortable when one visits our church.

— Anonymous Baptist (@anonbaptist) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite they think Jesus looked like he was Alabama, loves nascar and guns.

— Pastors Wife (@YoungFirstLady) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite… we have to hold classes on how to clap to the beat of the music.

— ♖Parson Peeves™♖ (@ParsonPeeves) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite that my members still interpret "separation" in the Bible as segregation. Let the unfollows begin…

— The Bitter Pastor™ (@TheBitterPastor) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite we have to put together a sunscreen committee for VBS each year.

— ChristianCollegeKid (@xiancollegekid) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite they think LeCrae is some fancy French food.

— Anonymous Baptist (@anonbaptist) July 30, 2014

#mychurchissowhite I invited a friend who said, "You know I'd be the only chocolate chip in that cookie." #TrueStory pic.twitter.com/LjWAiygAo8

— Calvinist Janeway (@NeoCalJaneway) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite Joel Osteen's teeth are jealous….

— Neutral Christian (@NeutralAnon) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite they think the verse "God is light and in him is no darkness at all" is about our congregation

— Chris Linzey (@chrislinzey) July 30, 2014

#MyChurchIsSoWhite that we witnessed to a long-time member after they returned from a beach vacation.

— Calvinist America (@CalvinistUSA) July 30, 2014

It’s actually normal to be drawn to people who are similar to ourselves and our own style and preferences. We get into trouble when we start thinking that our way of doing things needs to be the norm for everyone else. We get into trouble when we start seeing anyone else as “other than.”

In Christ, we’re all part of the same family.

🙂

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I Can’t Come to Church

© Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net

The other day some of us were involved in a hashtag game called #ICantComeToChurch.

It was highlighting some of the excuses we have heard (or used) to avoid going to church. Here are just a few of my faves:

#ICantComeToChurch because of all those hypocrites

— Doctor.Donna (@DonnaGeee) February 27, 2014

#ICantComeToChurch because the youth pastor is filling in while the senior pastor is on vacation (not a joke, heard this one)

— Anon Parishioner (@AParishioner) February 27, 2014

Pastor, #ICantComeToChurch because my husband’s ex-wife always shoots me dirty looks (yup, you guessed it – real)

— Xian Satirist (@TheXianSatirist) February 27, 2014

#ICantComeToChurch because last time I skipped, no one noticed, so now I’m too offended to come back.

— Back Row Baptist (@BackRowBaptist) February 27, 2014

#ICantComeToChurch because <insert lame excuse here>

— Tamster Too (@chattytamster) February 27, 2014

There were a lot more, some were plain silly and fictitious, but it highlights the fact that we’ve all heard and used examples on why we can’t be in church.

I’ve frequently heard people argue that you don’t have to be in church to be a Xian – that being in church doesn’t make you a Xian any more than being in a garage makes you a car. And that’s true. But church isn’t about you and what you get out of it.

In his book, “The Good and Beautiful Community” James Bryan Smith points out that  how you feel about church and the feeling you get from church isn’t the point. It’s not about your inspiration, but “rather the ‘transformation of the person within, by, and for the community.”

Being part of the community of faith transforms us. It teaches us. It holds us accountable. It allows us to participate in God’s story, other Xian’s stories, and to share our story with others. When all is said and done, while salvation is by faith in Jesus and not dependent on your church attendance record, we are missing out on the chance to grow and mature into the kind of person we could be if we would participate in the life of God’s Community.

So when Sunday rolls around next week try something different. Don’t look for excuses why you CAN’T go. Look for reasons why you SHOULD go. Engage. Plug in. Start participating in the story. Let others influence you. Influence others.

We all get better because of it.

And together we start to look like the Community God designed us to be.

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