Thought Question: Worn Out on Religion?

9 Responses to Thought Question: Worn Out on Religion?

1. Terry says:

   August 27, 2011 at 8:29 am

   James 1:26-27 comes to mind.
2. laymond says:

   August 27, 2011 at 9:14 am

   “and to keep oneself unstained from the world”

   Well Terry, it couldn’t be that, because that would be “works”
3. Rose Marie says:

   August 27, 2011 at 9:19 am

   Indeed. Some of us may be worn out on religion. Even if we have the relationship thing right rather than the religion thing, I think I might divorce a man that required 24 hour 365 a year devotion to HIS agenda. I might like to rest for a bit and just float along. I might like to have my agenda taken care of for a bit.

   My daughter and her husband are worn out completely from trying for twelve years to parent his three children from a former marriage to a drug addict. They have tried desperately to build relationship with these kids, they have attended church faithfully, requested prayers from pastors and counselors, have sacrificed all on the altar of saving these kids. And the children have all left to be with a boy friend and other grandparents. My daughter’s ability to practice her faith with others has suffered. They need a respite and it will probably take at least as long as the time in the trenches.

   We all recognize PTSD in military service. Any chance we can see this in spiritual service? I belong to a small congregation that is struggling with demographic changes that are not going to get better. No work in our rural community, aging (really!) members that require lots of visits and prayers for health concerns, genteel poverty that is now so entrenched that it is not going to change over the next decade. And I fear that drugs and despair are right around the corner for some of our extended church family and friends. Where are we to find the resources (non–monetary) to help with that when we are aging ourselves? Right now I am praying for three close friends with Alzheimers Disease.
   Not complaining just wondering how Jesus is going to provide for all of this need!
   Rose Marie
4. laymond says:

   August 27, 2011 at 1:07 pm

   Rose Marie, May God bless you and your family. We all think we have problems when we have no shoes, then we see people who have no feet. may God look kindly upon you.
5. Adam Legler says:

   August 27, 2011 at 6:59 pm

   I really like that quote Laymond.

   I would argue the religion James talks about is different than how we define religion today and this point may be missed with our postmodern world. If you have a relationship with God, then what burdens His heart will burden yours. But it takes understanding His nature to get this. Something we American Christians think we have mastered but is often times contradicted in our lifestyles and actions towards each other.

   As a devoted Christian I am sick of religion. Sometimes I am disgusted with going to a church service because we as Christians (in all denominations) have made it the focal point of our Christianity that needs to be done for us to feel good about ourselves. But at the same time I know the church is important in bringing up my kids. We have churches where 20% of the people are convicted to do the work that is needed while 80% does the checklist thing then passes a homeless shelter advertising a need for donations or help and is undisturbed on their way to a $50 dollar lunch where they get upset when the waitress gets the order wrong and is sure to let her know about it. No wonder any person you ask in the food business will tell you that the worst crowd they deal with is the Sun. lunch church crowd.

   On the other hand, I work with a wonderful lady who doesn’t believe in God anymore. Or so she says. I don’t think religion allowed her to really know God. Yet, she goes out of her way to take in special needs foster children that nobody else wants and is part of a family that insists on donating to each other’s favorite charity as a Christmas gift instead of giving each other presents. As has been implied here before on this blog, I think we might be surprised who is in Heaven. The religious have some real issues. How does a church deal with this.

   Pastor Chip Ingram who does a daily radio program describes a sermon he gives twice a year or so. He tells all those members that if they are at the church just to be served or pampered to, then they need to go somewhere else. His church is for those who are Roman 12 Christians. And his church has something like 4,000 members even after these sermons. We need more of these types of churches. Churches that aren’t overly concerned with the contribution and more concerned about making true disciples.

   Just some ramblings…
6. Rose Marie says:

   August 27, 2011 at 10:01 pm

   Thanks, Laymond for that blessing. I am not as desperate as that picture that this blog attaches looks or my words sound. I was only making the point that relationship or not, some of us are serving Jesus in places where the leisure of dropping in or out of a bible class or deciding to take the weekend off is just not practical. Someone visually handicapped needs a ride, or some class needs to be taught and the fields are white to harvest and the workers are few. I am sure that Jesus places us where we need to be. I remember several years back praying and telling God that I really had more leisure time than I needed and He could use me for whatever He needed. The phone started ringing and never stopped for one solid week. Babysitting for new people in town, a displaced immigrant woman with children who needed help to get back home, food needed to be delivered to another family, a young family lost a child to an in-home accident and someone was needed to sing at the graveside service. I thanked God profusely for His answer to my prayer but asked Him kindly to pull back and let me take care of my own children. He kindly did that. People just aren’t making themselves available. God has plenty for all of us to do. I wish Chip Ingram would preach that sermon at our church. Maybe there could be revival even when the outlook is grim.
   Rose Marie
7. Adam Legler says:

   August 28, 2011 at 7:30 am

   He actually has small group DVD series that I’ve used for a men’s study group before. You can go to http://www.livingontheedge.org
   The R12 series is the one that talks about authentic disciples. If you can get a small group together to do it it might be worth it. He is with the Christian church I believe.
8. Adam says:

   August 28, 2011 at 2:45 pm

   The author defines religion as:

   The systems and structures by which men endeavor to reach, obey, please or appease their god(s) or deity (deities).

   If you define religion that way, then who could argue for it?I would suggest that religion, by definition, is about building right relationship among the body – the inverse and necessary balance to the relationship between one man and God Himself.

   Building right relationship among the body requires time together. It requires common purpose. It requires humility and patience. It includes the building of the Kingdom, the increase in justice and of peace.

   For how can the body be in right relation if it has not yet reached its fullness? How can it be in right relation while part of it hungers or thirsts? How can it be in right relation while violence is perpetrated by it?

   As a avenue to bring people together, to build peace, to alleviate suffering – that is how I would define relgion, for that is how the body itself is built and sustained through the partnering with God in and for his kingdom.
9. Doug says:

   August 28, 2011 at 3:09 pm

   Religous PTSD strikes the hardest when a person is a member of a disfunctional congregation. At least that has been my experience. For me, it came as a shock that I needed to leave a congregation that I had helped birth and had worked with for 25 years. But, it was either leave that congregation or possibly lose my faith. And when I say that congregation was disfunctional, I include myself. Over the 25 years, I became very disfunctional.

   The time I spent at a Church from a totally different Christian perspective was well spent and was very restorative. It might come as a suprising shock but CofCer’s can learn something from other denominations, given the opportunity. I always knew that I would not stay in this denominational church but I sure don’t regret the time that I spent there healing. It can be impossible for a disfunctional person to heal when they are surrounded by disfunction. You just have to get away from the disfunction in order to begin to recognize it as disfunction.

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