The poster read, "Religion is Power." I stood there beside this poster waiting for my train and before I had time to even think about what it was actually saying a young man about my age passed by me and said to his friend, "Look at that propaganda." He was noticeably a bit unsteady on his feet from more than likely a night of drinking and thought the poster was put up by an evangelical Christian group looking to make make their best shot at what we refer to as "witnessing." However, this was not the type of propaganda he actually thought it was. It was an advertisement for a movie that is hitting theaters today, "The Book of Eli." A movie that deals with the devastation of the world and a hope for mankind during a post-apocalyptic world in year 2043. Whether he meant to or not, this random passer-by I do believe represented a mind-set of those that are put-off by the idea of organized-religion, Christianity, and certainly the church. As for me, I can understand where many of those feelings come from.
First, let me say that I am and will always be an advocate for Christ and His church. Secondly, I love people and would not want to do anything intentionally that would seem in any way to be unloving. However, I feel that some have misunderstood what the local church, or organized religion is all about. Hopefully to that end I will endeavor to address some important questions or at the least get some positive discussion started through this post. Obviously through the course of this post whenever I reference "religion" I am referring to the "Christian church." I certainly realize there are many other religions out there, but it wold take much too much time for me to cover all of them in my discussion. So this blog will be limited to Christianity and the Christian church. Please understand that in many ways I am still on a learning journey with regards to many of the aspects of my Christian walk. Also, I will be the first to admit that in some cases I may need some adjustment to my thinking and reasoning, and I will humbly say that I believe I am moldable.
Many in our culture feel that the church is out-dated. Moreover, some feel that it is or can be a very cold, harsh, judgmental, and controlling institution. Unfortunately, I would have to say I understand why they might feel that way. The church can be that way, especially when it is not acting as a church should act. What you see then is a church serving itself and doing whatever it can to make itself look good. I'm not going to go into specific examples here, but each of you can probably think of your own personal example. It's this type of attitude within the church that causes people to walk past a movie billboard such as this and say the things this inebriated young man would say.
Fortunately, the church, Christianity, and the Christian religion can be very powerful and relevant in a great and marvelous way! The way that Christ intended it to be and died for it to be. Think of the power the church could have in impacting lives for good when and if it sees its role as a servant to people in such a way that it simply glorifies Christ. Think of the healing that can take place when believers come together and strategize about how to effectively reach out to those who are in need. For example, I would hope that organized religion would find it extremely hard to be hateful or indifferent when it comes to the current disaster that has befelled Haiti. 55,000 people have died and thousands more are without food and shelter. This it a time when the power of the Christian church (organized-religion) serving others is more than welcomed, it is needed. So we need to make sure that we do not miss this opportunity!
Lastly, it is through the Christian church, the bride of Christ, the local gathering of believers that the powerful gospel message is preserved, nurtured and best understood. As the church embraces the power it has to help others it should also do so with the understanding of the ultimate power it has to deliver a message that sets people free from sin and its enslaving power.
It is my hope that I, and others that are a part of the church that Christ died for, do not misuse its power, but instead recognize the impact we could have in the lives of others. If we were to embrace this power correctly maybe the next guy that walks past a movie poster would smile instead of scoff when he reads that "Religion is Power." For when it comes to the religion of Christ and his church there is power. Wonder-working power!
