So earlier I started going off about how people define spiritual maturity as spiritual knowledge and how they end up feeling spiritually empty (and thus say, “I’m not getting fed!”) and it’s because they’re approaching Christianity like it’s something to be studied, rather than lived – and God becomes someone to know about, rather than to know.
Think of it this way. Let’s say my marriage is going poorly. So my wife and I go to a counselor. We tell him we don’t feel close at all and want more out of our marriage. So he says: “Here’s what you need to do. Each of you should hire someone to do a 30 minute presentation on the other each week. Attend that seminar, learn all the facts you can about each other, and your marriage will be great.” Good advice? No. The stupidest thing you’ve heard since you learned that Brittany and Jaimie Lynn Spear’s mother is putting out a book on parenting? Maybe.
The way to make a marriage better is … quality time together, really talking, listening to each other, having date nights, serving each other, submitting, finding common interests.
So when Christians don’t feel close to God and want more out of their relationship with Him the answer is a “deeper” sermon on Sundays? Are you kidding me?!? The answer is that you need to get “fed” by your preacher? Really?!?
“You should go to a church with deeper messages.” Is that good advice? No. One of the stupidest things you’ve ever heard? Maybe.
If thing with God really is a relationship (or anything like a relationship) than what we’re after is not knowledge, its intimacy. And you can’t get intimacy through a sermon.
Wait, I have another way of saying this. I’ll tell you later.
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“Waaaaa. I’m Not Getting Fed” (Part 5(b))
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3 comments:
I think a lot of people at Forefront need to hear this. They serve, give, and attend but are still coming up empty and maybe because they are expecting too much I know that's weird to say when referring to God but it's the only thing I can figure
Yea, ok, except that the last time I checked, God doesn't talk back. Not lately, anyway.
So you pray and pray and pray, and then you sit there and try to interpret what God is "saying" to you by what happens next, right?
How do you know if you're right? How do you know if you aren't completely misinterpreting things?
And if a pastor or teacher or whatever, isn't there to help you understand God or whatever, then what's the purpose of listening to the guy every week anyway?
I think the point is not that pastors and sermons aren't needed, but that we shouldn't depend on them to give us everything we need spiritually. Some people love to learn about God from a pastor, which is great, but then they don't want to take it any further on their own. So yes, a pastor should be there to help you understand and learn, but they should not be our only connection to God.
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