8.31.2011

Cliques Don't Belong in Church!

In society we are known by our social status! In school you have the jocks, the cheerleaders, the popular kids, the nerds, and there's those that are somewhere in between. Very quickly, kids begin to form "cliques" and spend time only with their certain friends. They eat together, go to each others houses for sleepovers, birthday parties, and as they get older, their weekends are filled with their "friends". When I was in 6th grade, I already had my set of friends. This new girl walks into the room and I remember seeing a girl very different from myself. She had way too much make-up on for our age and wore outfits that my parents would have never let me leave the house wearing. I began to hear whispers from others around the room as she had entered. At that moment I had a decision to make. I could run off with my group of friends and let her fend for herself, or do something. I walked over to this girl and began to talk with her. I invited her to sit near me, play outside with me and eventually, I invited her to church and to church camp. As the years went by, we grew apart and went our separate ways. We ran into each other once in awhile and later I added her as a FB friend. She began to tell me about how she never knew Jesus loved her until I invited her to camp, and how she ran away from it for awhile, but then she found God once again. What would have happened if I had just walked away from her that day in 6th grade to be with my clique? Where would she be today?

In churches today, I find there's a lot of "Religious Cliques". You have the staff, the specific "helpers" for each department, the ones who are wealthy and give that amazing tithe, and then there's the ones that fall to the side. They may not be new, but have never really fit in. Maybe they have tried and in their mind failed. Maybe they see all these people who know each other and have never once seen a friendly smile, or someone that has taken the time to break away from their "friends" to extend an invitation to be apart. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to ask. If you are sitting in church and people can look at you and say, "oh, I know her, she's friends with this person and that person", then you are not being the Christian you are called to be. You have wrapped yourself up into a "clique" and have not allowed others to step inside and be apart. There should be no "cliques" in church, for we should all be willing to work together and stand side by side for God's kingdom. We should be united and remember that greeters are there to greet the door, but we should all have our hands extended to each other in friendship and love. Let's not get wrapped up in our social status at church, for God loves us, and has given each of us an invitation to be apart of His life forever!

James 2:1-4 "My dear brothers and sisters, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, never think some people are more important than others. Suppose someone comes into your church meeting wearing nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing old, dirty clothes. You show special attention to the one wearing nice clothes and say, 'please, sit here in this good seat.' But you say to the poor person 'Stand over there.' or, 'sit on the floor by my feet.' What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others, and with evil thoughts you are deciding that one person is better."

3 comments:

  1. Well, hmmmm looks like I'm the first to comment. Being z newcomer to many churches, I'd have to say yes. Some churches are easier to newcomers than other.

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  2. Many people don't leave comments on here and seem to put them on my FB page. I need to remind them to leave more comments here for those who would want to discuss it more. So, if you have been a newcomer to many churches, did you feel size of the church or a certain denomination affected how they accepted you? I suppose location is also a factor, small town or larger city can affect whether people take the time to truly get to know a person.
    Thanks for your comment!

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  3. I agree with the points made above about the need to reach out to people and love on them. That was the basis of much of what Christ did and taught when he was on earth. I also want to point out that you will ALWAYS find fault (Hippocrates) in the church, because the only difference between those that are in the church and those that are not is that those in the church have admitted they are sinners in need of a savior (Christ). They are not the "finished" product, they are still in the "works". For us to expect the church to be perfect is a standard that will never be able to be meet, because they are still sinners. Christ is working on one or two issues in them at the time, and their response time varies, but they still are sinners! Another thing… sometimes we make ourselves unapproachable, but looking like we are crabby, or better than others, or move out quickly rather than lingering, or something. Often I have wanted to approach someone, but thought they would think less of me, when they were wishing they could approach me while neither of us approached the other. In our church, with so many there, and multiple services, it is difficult to know who to approach. Many lead busy lives as well, so it is important to approach others, get to know them, cry out and seek out if you need help and love. It takes time to meet friends and find who "clicks" with your personality. Attend a Sunday School class, or a small group, don't just come for service and leave. When you attend a small group activity you learn who people are, they learn your needs, so others can help meet it. The main church service is not able to meet those needs, that meets the need of "knowledge", but small groups like SS school not only meet "knowledge" needs, but they also are able to meet the real purpose of church in that in there you are encouraged, and mentored, and loved on, and spurred to greater growth!

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