“The Preference Driven Church.”
In the first century the
gathering of Christians on the first day of the week, was the big day of the
week. It was the focal point of lives
for all the believers. They honored Christ with the sharing of the love
feast. They spent time with one
another. They studied God’s word
together and they sang with their hearts, praising the Lord for all He had done
for them.
In modern times we have
seen a shift to what I would call the “preference driven” church. The preference drive church is one that has a
consumer focus and has a self-serving attitude. The new trinity being served is
me, myself and I instead of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the
Preference Driven Church the members become judges, scoring all the
performances going on around them. The
worship leader and his song selection are judged, other participants in the
audience alongside them are judged. The
preacher is judged by content, quality and length of message. Seemingly worship
has become like judges at a diving competition or watching a gymnastics meet. The Preference Driven Church scrutinizes
every detail of the Sunday morning searching for something to blame for the
emptiness that is felt after the gathering finishes for the day. Not realizing
the emptiness comes from taking the focus off of God.
It does not have to be
that way. God did not design worship to be the biggest distraction of their
faith, causing people to come with the expectation of getting something. God
designed worship to be a time of Giving.
Giving encouragement to one another. Building up one another. Reaching
out to one another. Helping those downtrodden by the world. Welcoming those who
have been defeated to a race which they can win.
God expects us to give
back to Him as we come together each first day of the week. He wants us to greet each other cheerfully. He wants us to sing to Him and to each
other. He expects us to sacrifice. This sacrifice for His altar is to be from
our first fruits, the best we have.
God expects us to be
touched by His word each time we meet together.
The Word according to God is a lamp for us to walk by. His Word was written to change our behavior
and draw us close to Him.
As you worship take of the idea that
it is not about me today. It is not about us today.
It is all about the God that we serve and His Son who went to the cross
for us. His Son asked this of us, “Can
you follow me.” Can you follow him!
