Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Do you ever get tired?

I got back yesterday from a week long minitry trip. I only got four hours of sleep the night before I had to fly home. I couldnt sleep on the plane cause there was a screaming kid behind me, a man that was coveting my PSP sitting next to me(if I would have nodded off he would have swiped it for sure), and forget the fact that I was sneezing every 27 seconds. It got so bad that people were staring at me while I sneezed. No one, and I mean no one, said "bless you" or anything! I was deeply wounded. haha. I couldn't help the fact that I was sneezing. I had no medicine or anything, yet everyone around me looked inconvenienced by the fact that I could not stop. Nobody offered me anything either. Don't look at me in complete disdain, without trying to help a brotha' out. Of course, my mind drifted over to the churchworld! There are a bunch of church people who act the same way. We look at people and expect them to stop awful habits, stop sinning, and quit being an inconvenience to their routines. We can't have expectations on people if we are not willing to provide them with some possible solutions. Benedryl, tylenol, and/or tissues would have been helpful. Not even the flight attendant was remotely interested in helping me. She was so intent on doing her job right(what would you like to drink?, peanuts?), that she forgot to look after the people she was doing the job for. Aren't we guilty of that sometimes. Just doing our church job, that we overlook those who really need help. I am getting tired of church. Not THE church, but DOING church. I am looking forward to reading Dan Kimbal's book, They Like Jesus, Just Not the Church. Maybe that will help me make sense of why we focus the majority of our attentionon the service part, but not the servant part.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great book! I'm reading it now. Looking forward to hearing your view!

Anonymous said...

I think I may know why people didn't say "God bless you" or offer you something to help your sneezing. They MAY have been busy, rude or thoughtless BUT they may have also been afraid they would catch something from you.

The Bible says that if Jesus is lifted up, that He will draw all people to Himself. Somehow, we don't see the hurting, sinful and needy being drawn to most churches.

Maybe the church has a fear of "catching something" from those who need Jesus most.

I agree. I am tired of church too!

cdbarley said...

Ha! Pastor Jason, I could totally hear you writing this blog! I have no super comments other than to say Dan Kimbell has some great hair! And if more people wake up to the intended purpose of the church instead of wading in self agendas we can start being the church. living waters, always reaching, always changing,moving, growing, and adapting.