So you’re telling me I really need to be in church?
Yes, I’m telling you that you really need to be in church. Hear me out—
A few years ago I was adamant that the system we call church wasn’t real. I was convinced that, somehow with the advent of modern technology, we had twisted and misunderstood what church is supposed to be. To prove myself right, I did a deep dive into the Book of Acts convinced I would find my proof.
But I didn’t. At least not enough proof to disprove the modern church. (Obviously, we could disprove the necessity of certain church elements and negative inter-personal behaviors; but the fact is God wants church and He wants you in it.)
The reality is church is mandated by God himself. Jesus told Peter (Matthew 16:17-19) that He was going to build the church upon imperfect people like Peter who would go on to deny Jesus while He was headed to the cross and then preach revival just a few books later.
Could it be that Jesus knew that church and imperfection would always run hand in hand?
It seems like even in the Roman age people were trying to disprove the model. Admittedly, the early Catholic Church was flawed what with its selling of salvation and all, and there were people even then trying to search out a better, more truly Biblical model like Martin Luther. But that’s the thing, even Luther knew church was supposed to be IT.
Gathering, community, being a body of believers with Jesus as the head is THE model and it’s the only one we’re going to get!
Now fast forward to 2021, instead of trying to create new denominations, as Luther did with Protestantism, there are people (myself included) who at times have been convinced that just doing Christianity in solitude or only virtually is the new “it.” But just like the earliest days of organized church, you can’t escape the fact that you and I were called to be together— flaws and all.
It’s a fact that is literally written in Jesus’ DNA if we truly believe that He was The Word (John 1:1-5).
One of our biggest goals at VIP is to get believers off the sidelines and in the game of their relationship with God. Because truthfully (and I know this is tough to admit), while salvation is in no way tied to church attendance, your personal growth in Christ IS tied to church attendance.
(And by church I mean however you systematically and regularly gather around the Word with other believers. For most, this is an actual building, but could include a small group or Bible study that meets on a regular basis as modeled in the Book of Acts.)
That’s an uncomfortable statement, especially if you’ve been hurt by church. But it’s the truth.
God gives leaders special gifts for the express purpose of helping other believers grow within the context of church (Ephesians 4:11-13). He’s appointed certain gifts that are truly only activated within the boundaries that He’s set up as “church.”
It’s the reason why you don’t go to work and get a “an on time word” from your boss but can do so at church.
God intended the church to be the place where believers are strengthened, encouraged and equipped to grow up in their relationship with Him. And if we’re being honest, it’s HARD, like extra-work, to try and grow yourself by yourself. But having people with special gifts and anointings for that exact purpose (spiritual growth) around you on a regular basis really helps.
And if you can grow up in Christ, you can begin to do things for Christ that gives you a life of purpose far greater you ever imagined for yourself (Ephesians 4:14-16). Realistically, I think that’s what we all want.
The VIP Podcast Introduction Episode
Scripture References
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
John 1:1-5 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.1.1-5.nlt
“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/eph.4.11-13.nlt
“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Ephesians 4:14-16 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/eph.4.14-16.nlt
“Let’s start from the very beginning, a very good place to start.”
I sit here writing this first blog entry feeling somewhat hopeful, somewhat apprehensive and somewhat as if we’re on the precipice of something important. Not that important like, the 4th grade social studies fair you’ve been preparing for weeks for; but the kind of important like, “If we get this wrong we could totally screw up a lot of people in light of eternity.” And that’s heavy.
This is heavy. Venturing out, sharing our stories, our experience, our perspective is heavy.
But so is staying silent.
Pretending like everything is just “okay” begins to weigh on you. Questioning people and systems while still smiling through the procedures starts to eat away at you until you either decide, “It’s time for change or it’s time to walk away.” Well, MANY (and understandably so) have chosen the latter. But VIP is my ode to the former. It’s my attempt to change the system, expose the brokenness, let Christ in the cracks because after all, it’s about His body.
I still believe in the CHURCH.
I still believe it’s the PRIMARY way people will come to know the love of the Father and the sacrifice of the King and I believe it’s worth working through all the brokenness, pain and confusion.
So here we go…SEASON ONE.