Somewhere along the way, the thing we call “church” decided that the way to determine success was to count how many people sat in a building once a week and how much money they left in that building. What is so hard to understand is not why they measure success in this way but how in the world could they have ever gotten to that conversation from the radical rebellious nature of Jesus Christ who had no building to gather in. When he calls his followers to leave everything behind to “follow me” he didn’t say follow me to a building and sit there and talk about me. He didn’t say follow me to a building and separate yourself from your neighbor. He didn’t say follow me to a building and feel proud that we are so much better than those people out there. NO, he said things like “you without sin, throw the first stone” and “your faith has made you whole” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” Yes, he talked about money a lot considering we have so few quotes from him. But he talked about how it could be a barrier between us and God if we love money more than people. He talked about giving our money in a way that is pleasing to God and is a full measure of our love for God.
Maybe the church should talk more about being significant. Significant to the lives of the people we encounter. Significant in a way that heals the lost and lonely. Maybe the church should spend more time talking about how to survive our daily lives rather than focusing on what happens after we die. Maybe, just maybe, people would want to be part of a church like that. A church that cares for its neighbor and lives connected to the community is the kind of church we all want to be a part of. If we started talking about significance instead of success, maybe people would be excited enough to tell their friends and neighbors.
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