The Church for Christians Who Don’t Care About Stupid Things and Just Want to Worship God

This is the name of my new church.  Or, if you’d prefer, feel free to use the acronym. (C.C.W.C.A.S.T.J.W.W.G.). 

I’m sure there are a few of you who have already thought to yourselves, “He said it’s his church.  He’s so prideful.  The church doesn’t belong to him; it belongs to God!” 

If that in any way describes your thought process, then allow me to be the first to say that this church probably isn’t the one for you.  Not that I dislike you or think you’re a bad person, it’s just that those types of thoughts fall under the category of “Stupid Things” which is in direct contradiction with the intent of this church as established by the aforementioned name.

If you’d like, you can click on the following link for a virtual tour of our facilities.  Oh wait…there is no link because C.C.W.C.A.S.T.J.W.W.G. does not have a website.  And there are also no “facilities.”  In fact, here’s a brief list of some other things you won’t find at my church…

·         Stage Lighting:  We don’t feel the need to “set the mood” for worship.   

·         A Stage:  No need for elevation.

·         Paid Staff:  Or…any staff really.  We find that salaries and positions tend to cloud purpose and judgment.   

·         Committees:  There’s not much to decide upon.   

·         An offering plate:  We don’t really need your money to operate like some churches do, so we’ll let you decide how God leads you to use it. 

·         Fancy clothes:  This is simply because I never want to dress up.   

·         Pews:  What are pews? 

·         Fundraisers for building projects:  Don’t need funds or buildings. 

·         People who need any of those things in order to have church:  We still love and respect you :)

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying that any of those things are evil or “anti-God,” I just firmly believe that the modern American church has become too complicated.  We muddle it up with our traditions, self-imposed rules, and unreasonable expectations.  We push staff and volunteers to do more and more, and take on a never ending list of responsibilities in order to propel our churches towards....Well, I’m not really sure it’s always clear what we want to accomplish. 

What I do know is that most of the time we shove and strive and strain towards goals that hold no eternal significance or practical relevance.  The church has lost its purpose.  For some, it’s become a social gathering of like-minded people.  At worst, it’s become a business. 

And sadly, when the church becomes a business, it has to compete with other businesses.  That’s why we have to have all of those “things” which do nothing but make us look as good, or better than, the churches in our area which become our competition.

Personally, I’m tired of it.  And I know there must be others who feel the same way.  People who are burned out, disenfranchised, and feeling guilty over not wanting to go to church at all.          

Okay, so C.C.W.C.A.S.T.J.W.W.G. doesn’t really exist.  But I wish it did.  And maybe one day it will.  What are your thoughts?