Online Church??

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Clutch Magazine, the church

Come As You Are: Why I Fell In Love with Church Online

Monday Mar 28, 2011 – By Joi Marie McKenzie

I’m a ‘PK’ also known as a ‘preacher’s kid.’ My life could probably be measured by the moments I created inside Oak Street A.M.E. Church and Payne Memorial A.M.E. Church, the two houses of worship where my mother served as pastor.

At three-years-old, I remember throwing up on my dad inside Oak Street’s multi-purpose room after eating too many Reese’s Pieces candies. At five-years-old, I was welcomed into Payne Memorial by a kiss on the cheek by one of their longtime members. I’ll never forget that moment where I automatically made a connection with my new church family. At 9, Jesse Jackson visited the church and held my small brown hand while my mother took him on a tour. And, at 13-years-old, my mother announced to our church that she had made history becoming the first female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

It was a bittersweet moment. While I was beyond proud of my mother’s seemingly unreachable accomplishment, I was also sad that I’d be losing a family I had loved dearly. (In the A.M.E. tradition, bishops can no longer pastor.)

For the first time in my life, I was able to choose where I worshipped…and the thought scared me. After growing up inside such sacred walls, I never considered what I liked about a worship experience and what I didn’t like. I never asked myself whether I preferred a small congregation or a large mega-church. And I never pondered whether it mattered if my church had a dance ministry or a youth ministry…because before this moment, I had to attend church whether I liked it or not.

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What We Can Learn From The Eddie Long Scandal

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Eddie Long, gossip, the church, TV

See, another one of those megachurch pastor/pimps has swindled the minds, souls and money of the weak Christians. That is what the media will lead some to believe when reading all the juicy details from the lawsuit brought against Bishop Eddie Long of 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Church outside of Atlanta. The media is having a field day as Long faces public humiliation. It is surely an outrageous situation! Certainly the world is looking at the church and judging us all for his actions. Anyone who tells you that you are weak because you choose to pray for this man instead of gossip about him is sorely mistaken. We don’t know and may never know the truth, but before you throw your opinion about Long into the public arena, here are some things to consider:

1. Don’t Judge

We don’t know what happened and we cannot assume just because the man is well known that he is shady. It’s not up to us to make that distinction. When someone has fallen short of their moral and spiritual platforms, Christians are supposed to come together to pray for that person not condemn them. Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” In this case, since all the facts of these allegations are not known until we knows the truth and after we know the truth, we should pray for those who are struggling right now. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2)

2. Reflect On Your Own Secret Sin

Exposure is often a consequence of secret sin. Many times people ignore the signs and the voice of God that tells them to stop what they are doing, and think that worldly things like money, fame, prestige and status can prevent them from being outted for whatever sin they have. Lucky for us normal folks, when we are exposed it is not to the entire world. But having your family, closest friends and community find out what you do behind closed doors is just as devastating and embarrassing. This situation with Eddie Long should force us to look at our lives and our own secrets. What we think nobody knows, God surely knows. No matter how careful and clean you may be, everything comes to the light! “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” (Luke 12:3)

3. Own Up To Your Issues & Repent

Confessing to your sins and asking God to help you change will help you to avoid exposure and embarrassment. Sometimes we dig ourselves so deep in, we don’t see a way out. But telling God you need Him to change you will change you! “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)

4. Everyone Isn’t A Good Representative of Christ

Everybody that goes to church, reads the Bible and can quote scripture is a good Christian. This is because Christianity isn’t about being religious. It isn’t about how much you can do to prove that you are a good person. It is about a personal relationship that you develop between yourself and God through prayer, understanding (not just reading the Bible) and becoming more like Jesus. Don’t look to the media for good representations of Jesus’ followers. Ask God for mentors, fellowship with church members and even then understand that they have shortcomings. Personally, I have found more examples of good Christians in my church, and have yet to see a handful on TV. But that’s just me. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-22)

5. The Devil Has No Power Over You

The devil cannot kill, steal or destroy your life without your permission. If you are saved, you are no longer under the control of the enemy. But temptation is a serious, serious thing that can end up separating us from God. So know your weaknesses, even after you repent and be mindful that you can fall victim to certain things. Be proactive when it comes to guarding your eyes, ears, tongue and thoughts from things that tempt you. And ask God for help when the temptation gets too tough! Don’t be afraid to speak the Word of God over your life, and don’t think you can dibble and dabble in things that can take a hold of you. “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:13-15)

9 Things That Don’t Make You A Good Christian

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attitudes, faith, how to, Jesus, music, relationships, salvation, the church, wisdom, worship

Wearing a cross necklace doesn't make you a good Christian either...

Since I’ve started this new, wonderful relationship with God, I have noticed that people are trying to prove to me that they know God too! It’s kind of weird, because there are people who have misquoted the Bible in front of me or been accidentally blasphemous, trying to show me that they know the Bible just like me.

People should strive to explore God personally and corporately through a church where they belong and not try to compare their experiences to someone else’s. So I’ve come up with a list of things that people should examine to make sure that they are working toward having the most quality relationship with God that they can have for them, and not for other people.

1. Not accepting Jesus Christ as your savior

If you don’t understand and accept what Jesus did for us, then you are not a Christian. Accepting that Jesus died for our sins is the first requirement to being a Christian. You may attend church, and you might believe in a “higher power” but if you don’t know or understand the sacrifice, you should do everything you can to understand that first and foremost.

2. Forwarding “Christian” emails

We all get emails from people talking about a sick kid or someone who died tragically that makes you want to cry, then tells you to forward it on to eight people if you are a “real Christian” and some “miracle” will happen. For like 10 seconds I feel bad for not forwarding those things on, then I remember that we cannot treat God like he is a chain letter or pyramid scheme. If you want to share testimonies or information about God, that is great, just don’t put stipulations on it that make people uncomfortable.

3. Knowing the Word and not doing the Word

There are so many people who can quote the Bible, yet do not apply its wisdom to their life. Even the devil knows the Bible! He uses it to confuse us! Knowing the Bible verbatim is wonderful and shows that you study, but knowing it and not doing it is a futile practice. It shows that you can memorize. A thing that people often pray is that they want to “not just be hearers, but doers of the Word.” Praying that God will help you to apply what you hear is a blessing!

4. Having a stanky attitude

God wants you to be nice and be happy. Point blank. Not, nice when people are nice to you. Not happy when all your bills are paid and people are acting right. Galatians 5:22-23 says: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Going to church, reading the Bible, but being mean to your waiter or cashier is not what God wants you to do. Waking up everyday, being sad and pitying your self is not what God wants you to do. If you are unhappy or have an “attitude problem” seeking advice from the Bible, and asking God for help is the way to change.

5. Threatening people with the Bible

When people talk about homosexuality, abortion and politics, they often beat people over the head with the Bible. They will tell people they are going to hell if they are gay. They will quote Leviticus and tell them they are dammed. I know what they Bible says about sexual immorality, but teaching people with love reaches them before beating them over the head with the Bible. It takes more energy to actually get to know a person and understand why they do what they do, and I think that’s why people choose to just write others off.

6. Not having a real relationship with God

A relationship with God is personal. It’s not going to be the same thing your mom experiences, or your best friend knows. It will touch the most important and specific parts of your life. I have a friend who took years to find her artistic niche in molding and sculpting clay. One day, she told me she was reading Genesis and noticed how God was a ceramicist too. That is a personal, meaningful relationship. You establish that by asking God to reign over your life, putting everything on the line. You allow Him to use your gifts to say what He wants to say. And you thank Him for your life, and pray to Him to help you and others. So many people fake that to their own detriment, just to sound like a Christian in front of other Christians. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)” I surely don’t want to be on the other side of that fence.

7. Worshiping other things than God

Imagine on Judgment Day that there is an account of all the money we’ve spent, the time we’ve spent doing everything we’ve done in our lives and what has moved us the most emotionally and intellectually. How much time, money and energy have you spent on knowing God versus knowing other things in life. Have you been more engrossed and involved in sports, music, career, TV, dating, drama, etc. than learning who God is? It is an emotional, intellectual and spiritual experience that takes a lifetime of learning. Are you dedicated to that or something else?

8. Listening to Gospel music

Gospel music may help you feel better, remind you of scriptures and can serve as an alternate form of entertainment, but do not base your relationship with God off of it. Music can help you to praise and worship God, but it should not be the only source of your Word and relationship with Him. You should be able to feel better, know scripture and worship God with and without an organ present or a Mary Mary CD. Gospel music definitely fills a gap, and helps us to praise and worship God, but it is only a tool and does not make you sanctified.

9. Being a Professional Sinner

Not wanting to change and not wanting God “all in your business” will lead to a life of professional sin. We all sin, so they doesn’t necessarily make bad. Recognizing your sin and changing your life makes you a person who really understand what God is all about.

Does Going to Church Make You A Christian?

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Jesus, relationships, the church

When I’m looking over the statistics for the people who visit this blog, I can also see the search terms that bring people to my site. Many of them are interesting. One that seems to keep popping is, “Do I have to go to church to be saved,” or “can I be a Christian and not go to church” or some kind of variation of that. I thought I would touch on this today and try to answer this question to the best of my ability. Let’s just remember that my Bible knowledge is led by the Holy Spirit and not a degree or deep theological study, so if you have anything to add, please, please do so.

The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about those inquiries is why do people not want to go to church? I know that the bad experiences that people have with other people in the church deter them from wanting to attend and more active in the church. Many people don’t want to deal with the drama that surrounds “church folks” so they just stay home. They might think watching church on TV or listening to Gospel music is enough to stay right in God’s eyes. Or they may have had a really bad experience with a church member and blame God. Trust and believe I have had some bad church experiences so I understand how one might question God for allowing His people to act stank. What people do, obviously, isn’t always what God wants.

God wants us to fellowship with one another. He wants us to gather together to help each other heal and so that we can work as on accord to spread the Gospel. We need people. And people are flawed and stupid inside of church and outside. So if we realized how important it is for us to be educated, edified and your talents and gifts to be discovered, then we would have a stronger mindset to stay involved in some sort of ministry.

God wants us, as unique individuals, to use what we have to glorify Him. He doesn’t want you to come to church and think the only way you can be effective is to be a preacher, teacher or a singer. If you like gardening, God wants to use you. Me, I like to write from a very personal perspective.  I also ‘tweet’ for my church, how unique is that! I KNOW God is using that to help Him further His cause. A church that can help you understand God more fluently can help you translate your gifts and talents into something that edifies.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

I believe, and would venture to say that God believes that He doesn’t want us to be trying to go at life all alone spiritually. I mean, there are people who need to be alone and need sabbaticals. And ultimately the relationship that you cultivate with God is a personal one. But Proverbs 27:17 says that “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” We need each other to perfect each other. How else are we supposed to perfect the principals of forgiveness, charity and love if we don’t practice them? Someone being a jerk and out of line is the perfect scenario to show God as a forgiver and redeemer.

Unless you are being a misfit and unruly, no one can tell you not to come to church. No one should make it uncomfortable for you to come to church. No one can tell you because you are a sinner, and you are working through problems that you shouldn’t be at church.

On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

1 Corinthians 12:22-26

It is important that you join a church that allows you to be you, that teaches you the Word correctly and diligently (and not a personal agenda or opinion) and that you know that people need you to be part of the body of Christ. Jesus tells us to love one, and how else are we supposed to do this? So to answer the question, what makes one Christian is believing in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you believe in what Jesus believes, than you will go to church and be active there. One must develop a Christian lifestyle and act out what they believe.

I would tell you to pray and ask God for a church and actively seek one out, just like you would look for a job. I’d also beg you to please, please, please don’t let people deter you from learning, growing and serving for God.

Why Your Christian Friends Are Always Begging You To Go To Church

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blessings, evangelism, happiness, Jesus, relationships, the church

Every Sunday morning I send out a text to my un-churched friends “reminding” them of the time and location of my church. Sometimes, I start on Saturday night, when I know my friends are out and about. Maybe they won’t drink so hard, or will set their alarm clock to get up a little early and hang in the pews with me.

I know I get on their nerves. So this is for the people who are always being begged by their saved friends to come to church. You may be thinking, that’s okay for you…but I’m not ready for all of that. Below is a list of the things your Christian friends know about church and saved life that you may not.

1. Your Christian Friends have seen miracles happen in their lives

Nothing that David Blane can do compares to the things Jesus Christ can do for your life. I have physically been changed from a cancer diagnosis to a minor lung infection within days. I was once addicted to alcohol and depressed and without any drugs or psychology been cured. I don’t have the desire to do the things that put me in bad situations before. I asked God to help me and he took those desires away. The scariest thing about stopping sin is how. God is how. Simply ask Him and be ready for change and change happens!

2. Your Christian Friends now have tools to deal with their problems

Before I became a Christian, I complained about everything. I was miserable. Even while I’ve been saved, I have been working blindly, trying to solve my problems and issues. I am learning (by going to church and studying the Bible) that God gives us order and the Bible gives us instructions on how to handle our problems. There is nothing that you go through that is not mentioned in the Bible. God has all the answers for the right way and He wants us to do the right thing so that we can have a more abundant life. My life has been operating so much more smoothly, just by following the examples made for me in the Bible.

3. Your Christian Friends might not always be happy, but they have joy

Going to church and being saved isn’t always about “feeling good.” There are some hard times that everyone, even Christians have to face. Changing your life and transforming your mind is a hard, lifelong process. Christians aren’t always happy people, nobody is happy 24/7. But we have joy. And joy is a deeper happiness connected to our relationship with God. Joy allows us to be glad even if things aren’t going our way. There is a peace and calm over your life when you are walking with God! Being able to separate your troubles from what you are grateful for can save your life! Real Christians know how to make that distinction.

4. Your Christian Friends know what happens to people who run from God

I know from personal experience, and I know from reading the Bible that when God calls you, you better answer. People always talk about how God had to “chase them down” before they finally surrendered to Him. I saw what happened to Jonah, who ignored God’s call going to Tarshish instead of Ninevah. He had him swallowed up by a giant fish! I was watching the Mo’Nique Show the other night and rapper Foxy Brown was a guest. She said God had been chasing her for years, and one day for no reason, she woke up deaf! I’m not saying God is going to strike you deaf and dumb if you don’t go to church…but he is CAPABLE of doing whatever it takes to get your attention. Your friend inviting you IS GOD TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION.

5. Your Christian Friends want to kick it in heaven with you

I cannot invite you to anything more important than eternal life in heaven. No party on Earth compares, no amount of open bars and free bottles of liquor will induce more fun than what we will being doing next to God when our lives are over. Nothing here on Earth, no sin, is more important than that! I have had friends pass away, and I sometimes feel guilty that I didn’t know for sure where they went after death. I have a responsibility to the ones that I still have here to tell them what waits for them if they choose or don’t choose to serve Jesus Christ. Bottom line, I want to kick it in heaven with everyone I love. Even the people I don’t like!

So the next time your friend invites you to a church event or texts you asking you to go to church, try it! Psalms 34:8 says: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” All you have to do is go and see for yourself. You go everywhere else your friends invite you, why not go to church? Visit a church with a friend with an open mind and an expectant attitude, and you will be blessed!

What Would Jesus Do… About AIDS

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AIDS, health, Jesus, the church

An article via Essence.com about AIDS and the Black church

Commentary: Talking AIDS Is Greater Than Silence

Last month, I had the honor of opening the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS for a large Cincinnati church. During my conversation with the congregation, I encouraged them to consider two questions regarding the AIDS epidemic in Black communities:

1) What would Jesus do?
2) How would He guide us as people of faith?

Read more: http://www.essence.com/lifestyle/health/greater_than_aids_awareness.php#ixzz0jyTHIct6