Don't Go To Church

So, I have this t-shirt that I wear every now and then when I know I am going to be in a place with big crowds. It says on the front, "Don't Go To Church," but on the back it says, "Be The Church." I have heard critics say that I shouldn't even wear the shirt because it sends mixed messages. My reply to said critic, "Go bother someone else with your critiques."

I like to see people's response as I come walking by. I don't select certain people to walk past, or parade by pointing to my shirt, I just go about my business. But, while out and about, I listen. I see people that look at the front of my shirt and start laughing and then tell the person next to them to check out my shirt. These people oftentimes think that I am a walking billboard for the atheist, agnostic, or those who have been hurt in the name of the Christian religion. Oftentimes, these individuals will check out the back of my shirt as I come walking by and I will either hear them remark with a deflated sigh, "Oh," or they will say something like, "That's kinda cool." I also see lots of people that look at my shirt as we pass each other, and they shake their heads and place a scowl across their face. Sometimes when these people pass and then turn around to look at the back of my shirt (probably expecting a portrait of Satan), they see the line about being the church, and they exclaim, "Oh!" It is that sense of surprise that drives me NUTS!
You see, it is that mentality of judgement that so many Christians possess that turns away the very one they are here to reach out to!

This is an interesting experiment for me. It really hurts for others to look at you as if you were a piece of trash. It makes me feel like less of a person when someone looks at me with an invalidating stare.

There will not be any major reform amongst followers of Jesus. So where do the changes start taking place? I believe it has to start in individual congregations. There needs to be Christians who rise up...Christians who are not shaken by a "Satan Rules" t-shirt, or by the sight of two males kissing. Christians who do not get wierded out by chatting with wiccans, or people who have horns or scales implanted under their skin.

I think of:
- Romans 14:10 - "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat."
- Matthew 7:1-2 - "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

It is past time for those of us who are Christ followers to embrace the hands of those who are pre/post/non Christian and begin showing them what Christ was really about. As Christ Himself said, "For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. (John 12:47b)" Salvation is more important than judgment in our Lord's eyes. Therefore it should have precedence in our own.

Lord, let your Church be about bringing the sick to Christ. Let there be no room in our lives for judgment.