A Church or a Bar?
"What are these images supposed to be?" My wife ask me as I began to write. My response..."They are pictures of a bar, and one that might as well be one". One has embraced its function in society while the other has not. The five-hundred dollar question is, which is which? The first image is a former church that is now a bar. When I see this image I am reminded of that classic opening song of the sitcom Cheers,
"you wanna go, where everybody knows your name. And their always glad you came. You want to be where people can see, your troubles are all the same. You wanna go where everyone knows your name."
It might be suggested that both images represent social gatherings of like-minded people. The only difference between them is that the second image doesn't realize what the first image has embraced. Both gatherings could adopt the Cheers theme song as their battle hymn. However, the size of the church is not the issue. Even a congregation of 5,000 can be nothing more than a glorified social club. The real reason why the church of Jesus Christ cannot adopt the Cheers theme song is because the song does not include any mention of the Holy Spirit. In the final analysis, it has nothing to do with the programs, the size, the money, the facilities, etc... what makes the church the church, and distinguishes it from a bar or your local rotary club is the potent presence of the Holy Spirit, and the peoples' obedience respond to him. When you walk into church or drive by one on Sunday, is it a place where something supernatural is presently occurring or is it simply a brewhouse in waiting?
A Church or a Bar?
"What are these images supposed to be?" My wife ask me as I began to write. My response..."They are pictures of a bar, and one that might as well be one". One has embraced its function in society while the other has not. The five-hundred dollar question is, which is which? The first image is a former church that is now a bar. When I see this image I am reminded of that classic opening song of the sitcom Cheers,
"you wanna go, where everybody knows your name. And their always glad you came. You want to be where people can see, your troubles are all the same. You wanna go where everyone knows your name."
It might be suggested that both images represent social gatherings of like-minded people. The only difference between them is that the second image doesn't realize what the first image has embraced. Both gatherings could adopt the Cheers theme song as their battle hymn. However, the size of the church is not the issue. Even a congregation of 5,000 can be nothing more than a glorified social club. The real reason why the church of Jesus Christ cannot adopt the Cheers theme song is because the song does not include any mention of the Holy Spirit. In the final analysis, it has nothing to do with the programs, the size, the money, the facilities, etc... what makes the church the church, and distinguishes it from a bar or your local rotary club is the potent presence of the Holy Spirit, and the peoples' obedience respond to him. When you walk into church or drive by one on Sunday, is it a place where something supernatural is presently occurring or is it simply a brewhouse in waiting?
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