The Suck Factor

I know he was kidding, but Michael made a great observation in the COMMENT back in the post titled "OFFERING" (right under the rotten banana):

How great would it feel to publish a scientific study focusing on the "suck factor" of churches.


(yep, that's a REAL vacuum cleaner...)

You know what? I think that Natural Church Development is just that. Oh, it's not as...um...cool? as calling it the "suck factor" - but that's just what NCD talks about - "minimum factors."

You know what, Mike - we should re-write the whole NCD system and call it "The Suck Factor." Heh...

Seriously - I can go on and on about why churches suck - but I think the bottom line is not focusing on Jesus. There's a huge difference in TALKING ABOUT Jesus and LIVING FOR Jesus. And, like most of the dedicated Christians I know, I'm pretty good at the former, not so good at the latter...

And I think we need to focus not on who we WANT Jesus to be - but who the Bible reveals Jesus to be.

I just had a conversation about a woman who, though she is devout Southern Baptist, she's really a full-blown TULIP Presbyterian (the caricature, not the reality) on the inside. You see, she believes that God picks who He wants to go to heaven, and she's sure that He doesn't want her... And no matter (it seems) how hard my friend has tried to convince her that it's not true, she can't shake it...

And that's not the Jesus I see in the Gospels. That's not the God I see in the Bible...

And yet, I can't seem to conform myself to the image of the Jesus I DO see in the Bible...

Rather, maybe, I won't let the Holy Spirit conform me to His image...