Army of Priests

Parts 1 and 2 of this series have triggered some reaction so there are a few points I would like to clarify before continuing.

1. What I am exploring in this series is not the faults of our practises but rather the faults of our approach to them. There exists an idea that “A good Christian goes to church, plays a part in ministry, reads the bible, prays, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, etc”. The problem I am discussing here is not about going to church or reading the bible or not smoking but rather the idea that “A good Christian does these things…” That’s when perfectly good practises become religious.

2. I do not consider our position in our relationship with God to be one without responsibility. I consider God to be the initiator and head (taking the lead of) of our relationship which is like a marriage. It is our responsibility to invest into that relationship in a similar way to how God invests in it. This will quite possibly take the form of going to church, reading your bible, or praying but the specifics are individual and driven by love rather than a “rule book”.

Whilst God pursues us, there is also a drive in us to return to Him. We have a natural inclination to search for beauty and God is the most beautiful person of all. As He is clearly revealed in nature no one is without fault if they know He is offering reconciliation yet continue an adulterous relationship with sin. To me the cross is like a proposal God is making to the world and He is desperate for us to say “I do”. Just because God pursues us does not mean that we are in anyway predetermined to find Him for it is still our duty to turn from our wicked ways and reconcile with “our first love”-er.

3. Religion partitions our lives

Religion partitions our lives into “my time” and “God’s time”, “my money” and “God’s money”, “my space” and “God’s space”. Our religious activities occur during a particular time and thus we allocate time during our day for God then we live the rest of our secular lives without Him. We allocate 10% of our money for the offering, and then we spend the rest on our own pleasures. We allocate buildings for Church services and we make sure we don’t desecrate them with swearing or by wearing hats, but once we are outside we wear hats and swear.

All of my life belongs to God. I must think not just about how I give money, but also about how I spend money because all of my money belongs to God. I must spend my time with God all day and not just during my allocated “quiet time”. I must act outside of Church just as I do inside Church. My life is a sacrifice to God, not my practises.

This partitioning allows us some form of security. We can say we are praying for the lost without going out and talking to them. We can say we are reading our bible’s whilst walking past the hungry on our way to Church. We are doing what religious practise dictates we ‘should’ do and by doing so we safely put God in His place.

2. Religion is impersonal

Religion suggests a “cookie cutter” solution for a diverse range of people. It suggests that everyone will benefit from reading their bible, without acknowledging that God may want to teach someone in another way at the moment. It suggests that everyone will learn by going to Church without realising that someone may learn more by spending that time eating breakfast with the disadvantaged. Perhaps someone needs a conversation more than a sermon? Perhaps someone needs to weep rather than jump around to contemporary worship songs?

A religious person thinks that because ‘X’ works for them that it must work for others. Surely that person should say that ‘X’ worked for them, but they shouldn’t present this as a formula for success. If Moses was around today he might tell us that burning bushes are excellent ways to talk to God. Peter might tell us that walking on water is an excellent way to build faith. Paul might tell us that hunting down Christians in Damascus is a great way to meet Jesus. (I openly confess to being guilty of this myself)

People are different and God works in different ways in different people. We should absolutely share our experiences, but don’t let us think that we are the standard. What if someone does do ‘X’ and it doesn’t work. Would you have them be discouraged because it ‘should’ of?

1. Religion causes us to place formula before romance

In my mind the greatest problem with religion is that it places practises over a unique, intimate, and romantic relationship with God. You will never get a wife by following a formula, and so God did not woo you by following a formula. Nor will your relationship with God develop by following a formula.

Our relationship with God is a passionate and exciting thing. It is untamed, it is exhilarating, and it is unpredictable. That relationship comes before any formula. Jesus did not come to teach you what to do in order to meet God; He came to introduce you directly.

I doubt that your relationship with God will fit within the box of religion. It will challenge you where religion doesn’t go. It will cause you to do things that religion never touches. God does not want robots that know what to do; He wants people who know who He is.

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” – Mathew 7:22-23

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Continuing from part 1…

7. Religion is superficial

Religion is more about what we are doing on the outside than about what is happening on the inside. Our concern is far more with what people are doing than who they are becoming. A common frustration for me is that people are far more concerned with what I do on a Sunday morning than whether I am showing fruit of the spirit, or whether I am engaged in a Christian community during the week.

There are many people who have been in religion for a very long time who are devoid of spiritual fruit. These sad people have perfected religious practices but have become numb to the conviction of God. They turn up to Church wearing their Sunday best every week, they sport large smiles, and they can repeat the bible verse by verse. However, they’ll spread rumours behind your back, they will disassociate with you if you do not live up to their standards, and they will complain if anything is “out of order”.

Someone is an expert at religion if they read their bible every week, but there is no requirement on how that influences their life. This is why people can read about starving Jesus in Mathew 25 and then walk past the hungry on their way to Church. Meanwhile they are completely blind to their fault because they measure their progress against their religious activity instead of their character.

6. Religion causes us to judge

Because religion is superficial, it makes it easy to judge people based on what we see. In a recent post on x3church a story is told of an ex-porn producer who is now being questioned by the CPS (child protective services). Some Christian thought that because this sinner’s past did not live up to his standards that he must be a horrible father.

Why can’t we understand that we are all sinners? We are all sickos. We are all wretches. How dare we assume that because someone does not live up to our superficial standards that they must be worse than us? Because religion is superficial and because religion makes us forget how desperate we are it makes it easy for us to condemn others.

Although I spend many hours praying, I am just as much a sinner as someone who does none. Although I have many years of church experience I am still as desperately in need of God’s grace as a drug addict, or a prostitute, or an atheist. Compared to God we are all nothing, this is the great equalizer.

5. Religion stops us from thinking about what we are doing

Religion encourages us to just do our practises rather than stop and ask “why?” It is naturally assumed that going to Church is good for us. We have been told this since we became Christians. We may have even been told some reasons for this. But we never really ask “Why do we ‘go to’ Church?”, “Why do we dress up?”, “Why do we come together just so that we can listen to a sermon?”, “Why do we need a church building?”, “Why do we have to follow a set program?”, or “Why do we pay for all this expensive equipment?”

When you begin to ask this you may find that church is an end in itself or you may find a greater reason to attend church than you have ever had before. I am culling a few of my religious activities at the moment upon realising that they were a waste of time. For other people these activities could be highly useful. The important issue is that we do things for a purpose and not just because we have been told it is a good thing to do.

4. Religion limits imagination

Religion limits us to a set of pre-defined practises rather than encouraging us to find unique solutions to problems. Admittedly there are many exceptions to this rule, but often people have to force themselves to think outside the box rather than letting it be a natural thing.

Here is a theoretical example. Say you want to teach a group of young youths about poverty. The most common first reaction would be to hold a talk on it, maybe show a video someone had done. Then you may consider doing a study on poverty. Chances are that your last thought would be to take them into the city for the night and show them poverty.

Sermons or presentations or studies are typical religious practices. Therefore they are the first things that come into our mind when we want to address a spiritual issue. Someone may be having trouble understanding something. Our first piece of advice may be “read the bible more” but perhaps they really need to pray more. Because religious practice is formulaic we look at what we want and then find the correct formula to get it.

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Last night (Saturday) some friends were over my house and as they were leaving I informed them that I would not see them at church tomorrow (today – actually it is on as I write this). One of my friends jokingly referred to me as a “non-religious heathen”. I thanked him for the compliment.

I’m a Christian, but I hate religion. Before I continue allow me to specify my definition for religion as a Google search of “define: religion” yields a wide variety of results. I think of religion is a set of spiritual practises that someone deems necessary. These practises could include going to church, or reading your bible, or praying every morning. These practises become religious when someone says “people should attend Church” or “we are meant to meditate on the bible day and night”. It places emphasis on the means rather than on the end which could be reached by any number of means. For example, we read the bible to learn, but we could learn through Christian books, prayer, or by simply thinking things through. Therefore the idea that “we are meant to meditate on the bible day and night” places an emphasis on the means rather than the end; an emphasis on which would sound like “we should learn about God”.

So, this is why I hate religion:

10. Religion is all about me

Religion encourages us to seek out what is best for ourselves. Even the gospel message is often presented with an emphasis on what we get out of it. If we have faith or if we have works (depending on your beliefs) we get eternal life. The focus is entirely on us.

Religious practise is almost always done for our good. We read the bible for us. We pray for us. We go to church for us. It is about what we should do for God to fulfil his blessings on us. We look at passages about faith moving mountains and therefore we teach people that “they should have faith” so that we can get healed or so that we can prosper.

Sin can very easily be summed up as selfishness. If we carry that selfishness into our religion than we have not changed; we are merely sinners in a new context and we use religion as justification for our pursuit for self gratification. We are Christians so that we can get into heaven.

The reality is that the gospel is not about us at all. It is about God and His tireless pursuit of us and His glory being shown by our redemption. From this perspective our squabbles about our salvation being from our works or our faith appear petty and are exposed for the selfish talk they truly are.

9. Religion focuses our attention on the wrong things

Religion focuses our attention on our practises rather than on people or God. We are more concerned with organising our services than on feeding the poor. We spend far more on Church buildings than on fighting poverty. Our concern is about maintaining our religious practises over anything else. I have never heard of a Church that has decided to cancel a Sunday Service so that they can spend the time in the community.

In fact, I would suggest that the western Church currently exists for the sole purpose of facilitating or disseminating religion among its members. A church just isn’t a church unless it holds services, or has an organisational structure, or runs programs. Whilst some churches may be concerned about the community their actions in the community are not what are usually perceived when thinking about a church.

In similar fashion, when thinking about our own personal state we often tick off a check list of spiritual practises. Am I going to church? Yes. Am I reading the bible? Yes. Am I praying regularly? Yes. I must be doing ok as a Christian then. We measure ourselves by the practises people tell us we should do rather than ask “Is my heart in the right place?” or “Am I intimate with God?” or “Am I learning?” Yet again our emphasis is on religious practise instead of where it should be.

8. Religion makes us forget how desperate we are

Religion suggests to us the preposterous idea that by following a formula we can somehow improve ourselves. A typical formula is as follows: “By reading the bible, I increase my spiritual knowledge”. The idea is that by the adherents own efforts in reading the bible they can increase their own knowledge. This suggests that we are not entirely dependant on God.

Instead of living in a relationship with God whereby God says, “Today I am going to teach you something so open your bible” we think “I am going to learn something by reading my bible” as discussed earlier the emphasis is on us. The reality is that our religious practises are completely empty without God. The practise of reading our bible doesn’t teach us, God does.

We think we can become healthy Christians by following a routine of Church going, praying, and bible reading. There is nothing wrong with these things, but they become corrupted when we think that our own work in following these practises is responsible for our own spiritual growth. We forget just how lost and hopeless we are without God and eventually we end up caught in our practices not knowing that God left us to our own devices long ago.

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Once upon a time there lived a king. This king was very great and very wise. He was noble, loving, and very powerful. One day he thought to himself “I shall make myself a beautiful garden that shall encompass all the things I love.”

And so a garden was made. It was very big for the King had lots of land. It contained every kind of wild flower and tree organised into beautiful patterns. It had exotic animals of every description and mountains and canyons to fill in the landscape. When the garden was finished the King thought it was good and was glad that he had made it.

Now, the bachelor son of the king loved to play in the garden. He would capture and ride the stallions. He would paint the flowers. He would camp on mountain peaks. However, he was alone. The King thought to himself, “I must find the prince a beautiful princess so that he can get married and enjoy sharing his life with someone.”

So the King found and presented a beautiful princess to the prince and it was love at first sight. The two would spend countless hours playing in the garden. They would explore dark undergrowths. They would climb great trees. They enjoyed each other’s company extravagantly and grew to love each other intimately.

One day however, whilst the princess was alone, she was approached by one of the King’s servants. “The prince is holding something back from you,” he said, “In a corner of the garden he has hidden a beautiful jewel that he does not wish to share with you.”

“But the prince loves me and would never keep anything from me,” the princess replied.

“You precious child,” replied the servant, “Do you not see this garden and this kingdom? Do you think someone of your calibre is truly fit for one like our prince? Follow me and I shall show you that what I have said is true.” And for a moment the princess doubted all that she knew about the prince and his intentions, so she followed the servant.

The servant led her through a maze in the hedges and to a place the princess had never seen. Then he pointed towards the base of a fruit tree. The princess ducked down and looked where the servant was pointing, but as she did so the servant attacked her and tied her up.

Latter the prince came into the garden looking for his bride-to-be but could not find her. “Where are you?” he called. But the reply was only a snicker. The prince turned towards the sound and saw the servant leaning against the wall.

“For so long you have ordered us thinking you are better than us. I know that you are nothing special. I am just as good as your king. We are sick of your orders and have taken your bride as hostage.”

The prince grew furious, “Who are you to challenge our nobility?” He demanded, “My father shall punish you, but in the meantime I shall rescue my princess.”

And so the prince left the palace grounds on a quest to rescue the princess. He marched over great deserts and swam through wide rivers. He navigated dark forests and ran across wide plains. Eventually he found where the disobedient servants had hidden her. The place was a great dark castle and the princess was locked in the highest tower. Around the castle was burning lava and as the prince walked he heard the roar of a beast.

The prince approached the tower, desperate to free the princess. As he approached he saw the remains of another knight the king has sent out. Sir Law lay in ruins. Without fear the prince continued on towards the tower.

Just as he almost reached the base of the building he caught sight of the beast. It was a great dragon, many stories tall. It had ten horns upon ten heads. It had teeth longer than his skull. Its claws were as thick as his sword. It stank so strong the prince could barely breathe and its nostrils were filled with smoke from the fire in its belly. It wore armour several inches wide and on the breastplate was written “Sin” – the name of the beast.

The beast had been placed there to keep the beauty trapped and as it spotted the prince with its piercing eyes he knew he would have to fight. The prince did not fear but rather he drew his sword. “You shall not stop me!” the prince cried. With that the beast rose upon its hind legs and as it came down it shot a massive ball of fire at the prince who rolled to dodge it by just an inch. The prince ran around a corner feeling the heat on his back. The beast was quick to follow, the scales of its tail tearing bricks as they brushed the tower.

As the beast turned the corner the prince leapt upon its foot and stabbed his sword deep into its flesh. The beast fowled and shook his foot high into the air but the prince held on as tight as he could. Then the foot fell to the ground and the prince collapsed as the sword was thrown away. As the prince got back up the foot rose and kicked him several metres back to the ground. Its nail slashed across the prince’s cheek drawing blood from deep into his flesh.

Before the prince had landed the dragon rose it’s other foot and bought it thundering down onto him. The prince rolled just before it handed sending dust into his face. The prince looked up into the belly of the best just as its foot came crashing down upon him again this time catching the hair on the head the prince had only barely moved. The prince grabbed hold of the foot again and as the dragon raised it he climbed upon the dragon’s leg; stabbing between the scales with a dagger he pulled from his clock.

The beast roared in anger and thrust itself against the tower. The tower began to crack and the princess screamed as it slowly tilted on its axis. The price held on to the beast and leapt for the armour of it’s back in an attempt to hold on high in the air as the breast threw itself around. The beast turned its heads on its long necks and began to bite for the prince who narrowly dodged its great teeth. The prince fell off its back as he dodged and only just grabbed the breast plate with one hand as he struggled to hold himself high above the ground.

The beast rose on two legs and started striking its chest with its powerful claws. The prince only narrowly dodged the tremendous blows. But the prince held on. Then suddenly a great crack in the earth was heard and the prince looked down. The beast had stood to close to the cliff and was about to fall into the fire. The beast saw its mistake and tried to turn but the ground fell apart and the beast and the prince fell down towards the hot magma.

The princess was looking out the window and was terrified as she saw her prince fall into the abyss. She ran out of the tower (for it was now safe) and peered over the edge of the crevasse. Her lover had come for her, but he had died in the battle. She wept. She thought of how she had doubted the prince’s character back in the garden and how that had now led to his death. She thought of all the things she had done since then, thinking the prince would not come for her.

Just then a hand appeared from over the edge and the prince rose from the deep. He had just caught the rocks during the fall. He was tattered and bleeding. He bore the painful scares of the battle. He crawled to the princess in her tears and he asked her, “Princess, will you be my wife?”

The princess looked back at the prince and she told him, “Why would you want me? I believed what your servant Lucifer said about me. I thought you would never come after me for what I did and so I did many things in the tower that you would not approve of. I drank and entertained many evil men and, in my hopelessness, gave in to every desire.”

The prince looked upon the princess and he told her, “I know you are dirty now. I know you need a clean. I know you have given in to the evil enemy. But I also know that you are the same beautiful woman I danced with in the garden. I know you hair is the same hair I would watch blow in the wind. I know your eyes are the same eyes that would watch the sunset with me. We can clean you and heal you. I have travel far to save you. I have beaten the beast and paid for you with my blood. I carry the scars that you cost me. You are my reward for what I have done. I have a beautiful palace and a great garden. Will you enjoy it with me or have you fallen in love with another? What more can I do to convince you that I love you and that I am worthy of your affection?”

After those words the princess cried and the prince held her. “I cannot believe that you would still want me,” she sobbed, “but who am I to doubt you again. Yes, I will marry you.”

And so the prince and princess returned to the kingdom. There Lucifer and the evil servants were punished and a great feast was held for the wedding. And they lived happily ever after.

The prince’s name was “Jesus”. The princess’ name is up to you.

I love quotes. Unfortunately it seems only famous people ever get to be quoted. Thus I feel compelled to raise the banner of the “common man” and suggest some quotes worthy of the mouths of even the greatest theologians.

S. Pitt, a good friend of mine says: “Love is more about who I am than who they are.”

“Dare to do what will only work if God is in it.” Is a quote of ‘Pastor Chris’ from Bracken Ridge Baptist church when I visited one night.

In a rather simple yet meaningful quote M. Fargnoli said, “God knows what he’s doing.”

Finally here is one of mine: “The Church is called to be offensive – to storm the gates of sin, pain, shame, anger, and greed in this world and to change it through contagious love.”

So if you have any quotes from your self or other “nobodies” which would fit quite well next to C. S. Lewis or Ghandi please post them so that we may begin to give them the recognition they deserve.

Casting Crowns always has a way of putting into words many thoughts that people will not touch. I just heard this song today and wanted to share it with you.

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

*Chorus*
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

Chorus x2

Well if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

One of my friends runs with Jesus’ analogy in Mathew 5, Mark 9, and Luke 14 and has coined the term “salty things”. A salty thing is an action which makes a difference to another person. A salty thing changes a world: theirs. It is a proactive action built upon love that is targeted at the needs of another person. Salty acts reach into the gutter of people’s lives and pull them into the light. They prove to people that they can be loved no matter who they are.

When I look at my life I can see some areas where I am salty and some where I am not. This blog likely classifies as “salty”, provided it is actually making a difference to someone. Yet today I met a poor woman who claimed to be from Sydney and due to unforseen circumstances was in desperate need of money for accommodation. I gave her the change in my wallet, which was less than $1, (I trusted her story, what is the alternative?) and continued on my way. I latter realised that I could have done more. I could have called or travelled to the hotel and paid her accommodation in full. That would have been much saltier.

I can think of many problems with western Christianity, but its lack of saltiness is perhaps it’s saddest failing. No one is guiltier of this charge than me. So I ask the same question Jesus did: “if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?” (Mathew 5:13) How can I go about the slow process of making my life one that truly affects the people around me? How can the Church turn from a nice institution to a dangerous culture changing army?

Enter Operation: S.A.L.T.

Firstly, I think it appropriate that S.A.L.T. stand for “Serving As Living Testimony”. I wish to live as a testimony of God’s grace to wretches and His powerful intention to save people from their brokenness. I will be a testimony of God as He makes his home in my life. I shall humble myself in service to others just as Jesus did. Hopefully people will know I am His disciple by my love (John 13:35).

Secondly, I know that I cannot become salty on my own. Fortunately God has provided me with close friends with whom I have spent much time discussing saltiness. These people shall form my salt shaker. We each desire to make a difference. My thinking is that I should seize upon this community to encourage accountability and imaginative solutions to salt blockages.

Thirdly, I understand saltiness to be a proactive quality. Each of our “worlds” has its own injustices, gutters, and broken people. It is within my world that I will watch for opportunities and then take purposeful action to make an influence. For example, imagine I know someone in financial strife; I may make a purposeful effort to approach that person offering assistance rather than just waiting for them to ask. I refuse to be blind to the pain around me, and I refuse to ignore that pain.

Operation S.A.L.T is a social experiment in its planning stages. It is the beginning of an attempt to turn theory into practise and is something I shall discuss with my “team” as we dream wild things with God and wonder wether we really can make a difference in this world.

In the mean time I ask: “if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”