There's a great story in tucked away in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 4. Samuel has already been called by God as Israel's prophet. The prophet Eli is very old, his evil and wicked sons have died in battle with the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant (the presence of God) was captured by the Philistines. Upon receiving the news, Eli falls over backward in his chair and dies. The wife of one of Eli's sons gave birth upon the report and in verse 21 it says: "She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"-because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."
God forbid that the name "Ichabod" would be written on the threshold of any church today! It would mean that God's glory has departed. But we all know churches where God is not being glorified. And most of us have been in one or more of these churches for a period of time. It may have not always been that way either. There are many but here are just six examples of things I believe rob God of His rightful glory:
1. Churches that have sold their soul to numbers. Everything from budget, attendance and baptism are privately worshiped. They may say otherwise, but their conversations and attitudes reveal they have chosen to use the all too human Wall Street approach (Bottomline: P&L, Stock Value, Number of Investors, etc.,) instead of God's Word to measure what He is doing.
2. The absence of prayer beyond the obligatory meal/offering blessing and the token one that begins meetings, or worship. When meaningful (confessional, heart wrenching, toiling) prayer takes a back seat, or becomes a token effort, mark well the replacement of God's agenda with the human agenda. And even under the most honest of efforts the human agenda is flawed at best. When churches cease to allow God to penetrate their hearts in prayer He no longer sets the agenda. And God's agenda, where He is at work, is ALWAYS without prejudice and has the ultimate goal of His glory at heart!
3. Divisive, mean-spirited, self-righteous and self-appointed watchdogs of truth who cloak their evil deeds in spiritual language all for the sake of gaining control and having their say. These type of folks often use the language of "love" or doctrinal purity to accomplish their evil deeds. Even the well-intentioned can be wooed by their charms and confusion to accomplish division in God's church. Private meetings, hallway conversations and things done in secret aside from the Body at large are the norm for this group. I don't know many seasoned pastors and Christ-followers who have not experienced the vitriol of these evil doers at some point in ministry. The framework for their deeds and motivation can be seen in the trumped up trial and false accusations against our Lord during the week of His passion.
4. When buildings and Holy possessions are valued above God, prayer, and worship. There's nothing wrong with nice, practical and functional facilities to accomplish God's work and worship. But beware when leaders, members, and churches are more enamored with their building or latest capital campaign than they are the work of God in the hearts of men and women. A great question for any church undertaking a massive capital campaign is to ask: How will we glorify God through this facility and be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community? A trivial or obligatory response such as "worship" won't do. We should fill a page or two, with tangible ways this facility will bring glory to God through worship, missions and ministry. And we should fill another page with how the building represents solid biblical stewardship. In other words, can we get by with a functional and nice fixture, but not the top of the line trimmings so we can put those funds to use elsewhere in the cause of Christ? The danger is not the facility, the danger is letting the facility become a protected and prized golden calf.
5. Worship is about us. When every song, hymn or chorus is about us, our needs, our wants, our state. When God's Word does not "drive the bus" of worship. In other words, everything should revolve around the biblical text that points us to God, not our interpretation of it, or worse yet, our pet concerns. Do we leave worship asking, "Oh Father, were you pleased with our offering of worship today?" Or, do we leave with our worship scorecard in hand keeping grades on the message, praise band, choir, people who prayed, length of the service, etc.?
6. When conflict or complaint is more prevalent than unconditional love. Jesus said that we would be known by our love. So how is your church doing in that area? Are you known right now as a loving church that accepts people despite serious human flaws, sin and dysfunction? Are you so captured by the love of Christ that you can't help but display that toward others, even those who seek to wound, hurt and curse out of their own personal pains of the past? Jesus told us that we must love as He has loved us. He loved sacrificially. Are we really making sacrifices for each other? Are we in the words of Paul, giving preference to one another? Or is our personal agenda or pain more important? I understand that humans have conflict, disappoint each other, honest differences, and even get jealous. But despite those all too human components, we who are Christ-followers agreed when we accepted Jesus' free offer of grace that we would model our lives and conduct after Him. We agreed to demonstrate the same grace and forgiveness toward others that He has so lavishly bestowed on us. How about this. Would you say that the current state of your church, leadership and the various relationships is modeling this kind of love, forgiveness so as to "build up" the body? Or would you have to admit there's an absence of unconditional love? If it's the latter, it's never too late to start practicing unconditional love. Get on your knees first and receive God's, then begin with others.
Here's hoping and praying that your church and mine are never in a position to even remotely consider having to change the church sign, or threshold to read: "Ichabod". May our lives and churches be living testimonies to the glory of God! Amen.
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