Church
I had a long talk with Princess Nina tonight. We got to where she told me of some friends who had lived in Scotland until recently.
They told the Princess that they were the youngest couple in church. And they're only forty-ish. So we started talking.
Of course, I think churches are dying simply because God no longer rules in those 'churches' - if that's what you want to call them. So she told me of all the godly things people do, in the quiet, in her congregation. Truly amazing. That's where she sees God's love. She told me that she finds rest there.
So for a moment, I couldn't answer - all I could think of was: I want more than that. I want to meet with God when I go to church. I want to see Him in action. Signs and wonders. I want to be with Him.
And later, over doing the dishes, I got to thinking some more. About those churches in Scotland. About their members probably also being able to tell of godly things people do. Truly amazing things. That they find rest there.
And yet, the youngest couple in the church was forty-ish. The congregation was not growing. Our measurement of "success" is God adding to the congregation daily. That was not happening in the church in Scotland. And it does not happen here, in Princess Nina's congregation.
I can't tell you what we're doing wrong in church today. Only that we're doing something wrong - because the impact of God's church is not felt in our world.
And one more thing I can tell you. If you want different results, you have to do different things. You can not keep on doing things the way you have always done them, and expect things to change - they won't. And in church, things will change when we see God. No one can stay the same after having seen God.
Some time this year, at a service, some of the kids in the Princess' congregation will profess faith - it's something they do there when they turn sixteen, I think. For many of them, it will be the last time they ever go to church. Surely, something is wrong with that. Maybe, some of them will get lucky. Maybe they'll hear God calling, like I did. I hope they will be spared the pain, that they will not have to lose a god to gain God. God does not share His glory.
How I miss just sitting, talking to my father in his house.
How I miss just sitting, talking to my Father in His house.
I must find a place where I can go to worship, with others. I am not safe on my own.
They told the Princess that they were the youngest couple in church. And they're only forty-ish. So we started talking.
Of course, I think churches are dying simply because God no longer rules in those 'churches' - if that's what you want to call them. So she told me of all the godly things people do, in the quiet, in her congregation. Truly amazing. That's where she sees God's love. She told me that she finds rest there.
So for a moment, I couldn't answer - all I could think of was: I want more than that. I want to meet with God when I go to church. I want to see Him in action. Signs and wonders. I want to be with Him.
And later, over doing the dishes, I got to thinking some more. About those churches in Scotland. About their members probably also being able to tell of godly things people do. Truly amazing things. That they find rest there.
And yet, the youngest couple in the church was forty-ish. The congregation was not growing. Our measurement of "success" is God adding to the congregation daily. That was not happening in the church in Scotland. And it does not happen here, in Princess Nina's congregation.
I can't tell you what we're doing wrong in church today. Only that we're doing something wrong - because the impact of God's church is not felt in our world.
And one more thing I can tell you. If you want different results, you have to do different things. You can not keep on doing things the way you have always done them, and expect things to change - they won't. And in church, things will change when we see God. No one can stay the same after having seen God.
Some time this year, at a service, some of the kids in the Princess' congregation will profess faith - it's something they do there when they turn sixteen, I think. For many of them, it will be the last time they ever go to church. Surely, something is wrong with that. Maybe, some of them will get lucky. Maybe they'll hear God calling, like I did. I hope they will be spared the pain, that they will not have to lose a god to gain God. God does not share His glory.
How I miss just sitting, talking to my father in his house.
How I miss just sitting, talking to my Father in His house.
I must find a place where I can go to worship, with others. I am not safe on my own.
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