Today's Christianity, Part 4: What's in it for Me?

My heart is aching over some of the responses I've received to this "Today's Christianity" series so far, from people telling me of horrible experiences they've had with "Church" and "Christians."

However, other readers stated we can't let someone else get in the way of our spiritual search, our desire for a real relationship with God, or - if we're already believers - what we're supposed to be doing for Him. We should be open to God's voice, not swayed by some person whom we think is a jerk or hypocrite. We were created to worship God and find contentment in Him.

Still others remarked how church is not a place for perfect people, but for those who know life has challenges. We can experience church as a place of support, comfort and healing. Yes...it can happen! Members take care of each other during hard times. But, we can get that elsewhere. So, why attend church? Why Christianity? "What's in it for me?"

What's in it for those who are already Christians?
Christianity and church aren't about what's in it for us, or finding a place to be "happy" because everything's rosy and everyone's nice. We may find comfort and support, but church isn't a place to retreat. It's a place to re-fuel. Church isn't a taking place. It's supposed to be a place where we give - inside and outside church walls. Church is just a building. We are the church to outsiders. Each Christian's life is a picture worth a thousand words.

Church is a training ground for going out and lovingly spreading hope for a revitalized life and an eternal promise - not sitting and waiting for visitors to walk through the door. Drawing people toward God isn't only the clergy person's job. All believers are supposed to be "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17), excited about bringing new people to the Lord through our lives, love and charitable actions.

Being in "fellowship" came up in a lot of comments so far. Some people say they avoid church because of reasons given in Part 1and Part 2. I'd really like to stay out of church sometimes too, but avoiding gathering with other believers isn't scriptural (seeHebrews 10:25). Christianity is about selflessness; assisting in carrying the responsibilities of the church, its members and people who need help (Galatians 6:2, Philippians 2:3). There's huge payback in satisfaction from helping time-wise or monetarily.

Yet, only about 20% of the members in any church do all of the work, whether it's cleaning, administration, teaching, outreach or other ministries. An even smaller percentage give money to their church. According to a recent Barna poll, only 4%-12% of the members in any congregation or denomination regularly donate to their church. Even in a bad economy, what happened to trusting God with what's in our wallet? Not all churches and pastors are thieves just because we see the bad ones on TV.

What's in it for Spiritual Seekers and Bible Skeptics?
With apologies to skeptics and seekers, this small amount of money given to church by "believers" is one reason why churches often don't have anything to give people who come seeking help. But even when there's enough money, a church will most likely take care of its members first, because they know the needs are real. Plenty of con artists just go around the church circuit, playing the system for money; so churches need to be discerning.

A common argument is "religion" causes a lot of the problems in the world. "Religion" isn't mentioned often in the Bible...only two or three times. And within the Christian portion of the Bible, the main definition of religion is "to care for orphans and widows and keep oneself free from the corruption of the world" (James 1:27).A far cry from today's practices as you see them, huh?

But whether you doubt the existence of God or you want to believe in Him, don't think about today's "organized church" first. Ask God to reveal Himself to you. Unlike Christians who may say or do something you don't like, God won't walk through your door without being invited. You can find this in Deuteronomy 4:29 in the Old Testament (the Hebrew Holy Scriptures) and Revelation 3:20 in the New Testament (beginning with the four gospels).

Isn't Christianity more "exclusive" than other faiths?
I'm not sure why people think this. For example, a person won't be considered Jewish before going through a study of the Torah and accepting Jewish traditions and customs. Jewish people believe they have a special connection to God as chosen out of all people (Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2). You won't be considered a Muslim without studying the Koran and accepting Allah. There are steps to becoming a Hindu, and so on. Plus, every single faith has do's and don'ts that won't sit well with everyone. So how is Christianity, by asking you to study the New Testament and accept Jesus as Savior, more exclusive than other faiths? The key to all is in the asking - never forcing.

Forget about preachers who attain fame through controversy. Forget people who walk up to you and say you're "going to hell" for some behavioral reason. Look for the Christian who asks you one question, in some form or another: Would you like to know for sure that there is a heaven and there is a way to eternal life? Because God so loved the world (everyone!) that he sent Jesus so that whoever wants to believe can experience the answer (John 3:16).

Source:
Barna poll, April 2008: http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/180-americans-donate-billions-to-charity-but-giving-to-churches-has-declined.