GodReflection: Power Words

I attend a peculiar church. I hasten to add that all churches are odd.

Church is not odd because we are the body of Christ. Rather, each church possesses a few weird traits since people comprise the membership.

People acquire somewhat strange habits that manifest as curious theology within our churches.

Somewhere within the pages of yesteryear someone—or some ones—in my church placed forms on the altar of the sacred. It was high on the value list to do church right—not that everyone reached agreement on the details of what composed right.

Anyone raised in my line of church needed the reminder for “ready recollections” and knew that “guide, guard, and direct,” signaled the end of the church service. We also knew theology underpinned the phrase “separate and apart.”

Thankfully, most churches moved on.

Not my church.

After communion the announcement is made, “Now, separate and apart from the communion you are going to have the opportunity to support the work of the church.”

Everyone knows Jesus didn’t take a collection after the last supper—far be it from us to mess with the form. (The apostles did sing a song and go out into a garden after the supper—but we can carry form only so far).Were we to get up, sing, and leave, we would miss the announcements.

However, since the guys up front are already in place, a collection is in order.

In the practice of the form, we miss the substance of learning to trust God through the sacrament of a sacrificial gift. The purpose of sacrifice is not to pay the bills. It is not even to send missionaries, nor to attend to the needs of the poor—although all three are important.

I need to learn to sacrifice to increase my own sense of trust that God will care for all my needs. The “separate and apart” form transition into a bill paying collection dilutes the substance.

Form religion causes me to grow weary. Form religion is stale. Form religion is void of power. I can practice the forms and miss the substance of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It is not an issue of preference. It is an issue of spiritual survival.

Ok, I get it.

I need form in my life. I function better with a designated time to get out of bed and a consistent time to go to sleep. I understand the importance of form to keep from generating chaos in the Body of Christ.

How do I translate my rant in this post into power living?

First, I want to make sure that substance evolves into a strong power word in my daily walk. Substance that comes from the Holy sustains and provokes growth.

Second, I want to learn a new that I find the true substance of life and meaning only in God and the Son. The Holy Spirit opens my access to the heart of God. True substance radiates from God.

Third, I want to be sure I don’t let the forms hid the core importance of transformation into the image of God.

How about you, are you starved for substance?

Stay tuned.

Dr. Gary J. Sorrells – A GodReflection on the Power Word Substance.

Gary@GodReflection.org