My views on Churchianity

Over the past month I have listened to some discussion as well as contributed my own views to the discussion. I have heard a discussion where believers were opposed to the idea of a small group ministry substituting 'traditional church'. I have also heard persons talking about traditional church services and attending these services as being very important as if these were the highest pinnacles of God's command. Participating and listening to these discussions grieve my spirit, as I know that what Christianity in the West is today, is inherited man-made traditions from which we need to break away and experience reformation.

I believe that the Christians in the West in general, and Jamaican Christians in particular, have a view of church that is different from that in the Bible. Our focus is so much on the building and programs (the so-called ministries), that we lose sight of the fact that the church is really the community of believers and that the early believers did not have a building for themselves from which they attended and conducted services.

Believers in the early church age went to the synagogues (clearly evident in the Acts of the Apostles) and gathered outside of the synagogues in houses and borrowed rooms or court yards/other land spaces to conduct their services and activities. There were more street meetings and house meetings than being within the four walls of a building called 'church' in the early church age. These services had no standardised rituals and liturgy has we have today. The believers did not go to a building at a set time each week to perform or carry out rituals. 'Christian' ceremonies today are man-made and not God-ordained, except for communion (which is another story) and baptism. Baby blessings, infant dedication, christening, funeral and wedding rites are all just cultural imports and adaptations of Jewish rites and traditions.

We must remember that Jesus warns that our traditions can come in the way of the commandments of God and in the way of true worship (Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7). He states that true worshippers need not a place to worship God (John 4:23). We do a disservice to God, by erecting our own worship traditions and then insisting that these are how people must worship and to use these standards to judge others by. May I also remind you that Jesus went to the synagogues as a 'custom', but did his ministry both within the synagogue as well as outside and every day of the week. He needed not a set day to minister to the people, teach the people or heal them. But everyday to him was a day to do ministerial work. Jesus met the people where they were, and so the did the apostles, going into their market places, workplaces and their homes.

The Ministry of Biblical Illustration

I have been thinking about how to give service at the fellowship that I regularly attend and to the L-RD at this time. After reading some passages in Ezekiel, I saw where G-d asked Ezekiel to put forth information to various target audiences. In these, I felt that I could merge my desire to serve G-d with my interest or hobby in drawing, as information does not have to be textual only, but also visual. But more so to do this with a community of other young persons who may share my passion/hobby for learning to draw and illustrate.

I believe the culture of the world is now skewed towards visual communication  and even in church, I see the use of this relative modern way of communication in the form of PowerPoint slides, multimedia or videos. I also see where even in the church quarterly or periodicals, graphics are designed and there are illustrations.

I am pretty sure that you may know young people or other persons within your fellowship that draw or want to learn. I myself, cannot draw well, but am an amateur. Nevertheless, I believe that if I use the little that I know for G-d, especially with others, then eventually, G-d will improve my talent over time.

The church should have a mission focus or emphasis, and a goal to make every believer a minister. One area of ministry that often is neglected is the use of visual arts or visual communication. There is an adage that says that a picture is worth a thousand words. Surely, in times gone by in the past, the LORD caused persons to write down his communications to human beings. However, he does not limit his communication to the written word only. Psalm 19 states that his creative works also communicates.

As such, I see a new area of ministry and opportunity for members to give service to the LORD at this time that is in keeping with the modern culture of visual information consumption. Our modern culture in today's world is skewed towards visual communication and even in church, the is reliance on this relative modern way of communication in the form of PowerPoint slides, not to mention the countless brochures, fliers and other visual communication that are create each year to convey ephemeral information.

Such a proposed ministry can have a mandate or the aim of merging the desires of members to serve G-d with an interest or hobby in drawing or illustration to get an opportunity to do so while also fellowshipping with a community of other persons who may share that same passion/hobby for learning to draw and illustrate.

As in Moses' record of the construction of the tabernacle, God gave and used talents of two men to design the tabernacle's art work and interior decorations, so it is that God can use the talents for visual arts that he gave to members in the congregation for the purpose of contributing to the growth of the church as well as these individual members who serve. 

(Published November 22, 2011; but revised November 26, 2011)

Children Bible Story Books Part 2

I have always felt called into a publishing ministry. My spiritual vocation is to be a literature evangelist.

I am so glad that G-d has intersected this spiritual calling with my temporal calling. I am a Librarian and Information Specialist by training, and through this profession, I have learnt so much about publishing and the reading interests of people.

When I became a parent in 2008, a new world was open to me. Now I had to be responsible for my child's spiritual and cognitive development. Reading materials were crucial, but these materials would have to be accurate. I found all the available material both Christian and non-Christian inadequate. For non-Christian mateirals, references are made to fairies or witches. For Christian materials, pagan festivals or unscriptural practices or beliefs were present.

However, what has impressed me more than anything else is my experiences in a variety of Fellowships. None cater for my daughter's age range. The closest Fellowship that meet the needs of infants and toddlers is the Andrews Memorial Seventh-Day Adventist Church. So as much as I am more doctrinally diverse and liberal than the denomination, it is the one that has the best structured children programme for infants and toddlers. The details of its programme I will not go into.

However, the important issue here is their quarterly and the GraceLink Curriculum. The Beginner's quarterly for me is riddled with cultural issues of irrelevance to my child. Things that she does not see in her daily life experiences, as well as images that are not culturally relevant. Further, there are some issues of human viewpoints coming out. For instance, in the Beginner's 3rd Quarter for 2009, the celebration of birthdays is raised. Clearly the Bible has only one two indication of the celebration of birthdays - Herod and Jesus. With the Jewish calendar, I am not even sure that it was flexible to celebrate birthdays (See my blog post: Reasoning on JESUS's birthday).



This experience is now inspiring me to contemplate the writing of Christian reading material for toddlers and infants that will communicate the stories of the Bible in a form that is culturally relevant, that when chidlren interact with animals on a daily basis, they can remember G-d's word.

Pray for this ministry and initiative.

Works Cited:
Beginner Bible Study Guide: Third Quarter Vol. 33 No. 3 ,2009.

The dilemma of being unaffiliated

I read the following article, and it came at a time when I am spiritually hurting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/opinion/02blow.html?em

The need for truth in me and my need to be a part of a spiritual organization that has that same desire for truth and to be liberated from man's dogma and move into what G-d wants for them is unfulfilled.

All denominations that I know and have been in lack my specific beliefs. My wife has basically given up the search with me and has settled for what she is already used to. With that, she has thrown away all the truths that we have discovered. They are encumbering and prevents one from being at ease in contemporary Christian community.

Today I went to witness in Half-Way-Tree (HWT) and felt that my efforts were in vain. I was convicted that the person doing evangelism must be sent by an organization or a formal body, or G-d himself.

Secondly, I realise that one must be anointed to get people to follow what ever you teach, preach or say. All the truths known require a spirit behind you that will resonate well with your hearers.

On top of that, at Andrews SDA, G-d pointed out to me 1 Samuel 3:7. In essence, G-d showed me that many were like Samuel, ministering before the L-RD, doing ministry, yet failing to know him, for whom they ministered.