What if the Church?

Our church for the past few weeks had partnered with three other churches in the greater Kansas City area, and they have asked three distinct questions and even developed a website that I think may still be up and running www.whatifthechurch.net. They asked Three distinct questions that dealt with a series of sermons What if the church prayed together? What if the Church believed together? What if the church served together? I believe that we just have begun to touch the tip of this enormous mountain. In reflecting on this last three weeks, I know that my faith was shaken a little, not because I am not in agreement with those three concepts, but because it caused me to be taken out of my comfort zone, Yes I love to pray, I do believe, and serving is just apart of my nature. What it did for me is cause me to see how the world may view the local church. Have we become so caught up in our marketing, and our fancy logos that we forget that this is what the church in Acts 2:42-47 was all about. They prayed, believed for miracles, and served those who had need. Why is that we need to have times of focus, why is this not just part of our DNA? We seem to be co caught up in the numbers and the fancy buildings, when it was not about those things in the early church. It was about praying, believing, and serving. A few weeks ago during this series all three churches were challenged by a message where the opening lines of the message were "Get over Yourselves" I loved this message, because it helped take me back to my route of belief. It is not about me, it is about leading others to a loving relationship with God the Father. This week we heard another challenging message as Pastor Shaun Colin from WFC delivered a great message challenging the church to break through their comfort zone, and realize that there are people in that need us to b the hands and feet of Jesus to them. Shaun said many things in that sermon that were so true, one thing that hit me this week,and I have been giving it a lot of thought is the video that he showed of an aids stricken child in India that he was holding in his hands, and as he was talking he said church, I am holding this little girl for the last time, I know that when I come back here she will be gone. She was maybe 6-7 years old. This broke my heart, because all I could see was how close that girl was to my only sons age. He also told the story of how sometimes while in India he will ask a mother if he can hold their little child, and the mothers will always agree, and then they tell Shaun, "YOU KEEP" can you imagine? That is love! So as we sit, and we hear messages that tell us to "get over ourselves" how could we begin to get upset or feel guilt driven? WE are a blessed nation, and what would it truly look like if the Church tore down its walls of denominational ism, rolled up it sleeves as we did last Saturday and begin to serve the needs of the local community, and the community's over seas? WHAT IF THE CHURCH? I long for the day that we can begin to get back to the basics, and see God's children as HE sees them