A Bit Too Complicated

Sometimes I wonder if we are making things a bit too complicated. I tell people all the time that I am not a very smart person but that I believe this is beneficial to me. See, as a leader in the church I often look at some of the things that we are doing - things that seem to take so much of our time, resources, and attention - and I wonder why we are making everything so complicated.

Late last night I was up watching television when a commercial came on advertising the Bluebird bank card from American Express, Although I have seen this commercial dozens of times, last night the opening line caught my attention.

What if there was a new way to deal with money, that focused less on fees and more on what matters?

As I listened to this commercial I could not help but think about the church and what seems to be a very confused and complicated approach to the church today.

What if there was a new approach to church, that focused less on programs and more on what matters?

As I read the Gospel of Matthew, there are two points where Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, "I desire mercy not sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13 and Matthew 12:7)

Then in Matthew 15:1-3; "...some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?"

The way I see it, we are either going to break tradition of the modern day church or we are going to break the command of God. We must open our minds to the best ways to reach our culture - while holding on to the commands of God. We must open our hearts to love those who are hurting and in need in the world around us - loving the lost more than we love our church traditions. We must be willing to loose our traditions rather than allowing one more soul to be lost.

Sometimes I wonder if we are making things a bit too complicated. Jesus gave us some very pointed, very direct commands; love God and love people - love one another as I have loved you. So, I encourage us - as the church - to make things less complicated and start reaching the world.