Christ, Be the Center...

After working in the church for a while you learn lots of things. You learn good things. You learn bad things. You learn weird things. You learn a lot.

Lately I've been delving into the world of church membership. We've been looking at who is a member, who joined in the last year, and who left in the last year. This has been quite the learning process for me. While church membership was something you did growing up, it was never quite the defining force that I've found it to be where I'm at currently.

It has brought to mind lots of questions that don't really have answers yet for me. It seems to me that church membership can be a great thing and it can be a truly terrible thing. It can be good in ways of committing to one another and bearing with one another. Being prepared to serve one another and to truly work together for the greater good.

On the other hand though, I feel it can be a dangerous weapon. It allows exclusivity to arise. It perpetuates the MINE mentality. This is MY church, this is MY pew, this is MY parking spot. This entitlement mentality truly drives me insane. Often I wish we could get along without church membership. I feel it would leave the church much more open to new people and to those on the outside looking in.

When will we realize that any one of God's children are welcome and have a part to play? When will we realize that there is so much more to faith and Christianity than this? When will we stop bickering amongst ourselves and remember that Christ truly is the center of it all?

My heart cries to find the balance. To ensure that Christ truly is glorified in it all. May we never forget that HE is the center, not a congregation or a building or a sanctuary.

You’re the center of the universe
Everything was made in You Jesus
Breath of every living thing
Everyone was made for You

You hold everything together
You hold everything together

Christ be the center of our lives
Be the place we fix our eyes
Be the center of our lives

We lift our eyes to heaven
We wrap our lives around your life
We lift our eyes to heaven, to You