The Key Word: Relationship

Why do people "leave organized religion"? Why are people turned off by the word religion in the first place? At times I believe I can understand. Religion, Christian, Church - all of these over time have taken on negative connotations.

So what is the reason?

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I have the answer. I don't. However, I believe there is an aspect of that answer that seems quite obvious. There has been a shift of focus. Being a Christian has turned into a legalistic thing. Churches are concerned about rules more than people.

You see Jesus' ministry was based on one simple thing. Relationships. Those relationships are rare today. When people are leaving religion it is often because of broken relationships. The sad thing is that many equate relationships with other believers to relationship with God. I want to scream "do you see the mistake you are making!"

People are going to let you down. Even the most well meaning individual will make a mistake and hurt your feelings. These experiences can cause confusion. When someone who claims Christianity hurts another it is often God who receives the blame.

These difficult situations should cause us to seek out the truest relationship that we can have, the relationship with Christ. I fully believe that, but I also had a realization while reading a daily devotional this week: People who say that God is all you need are wrong.

Yes Jesus can and will provide everything we need, but unfortunately that is not enough. This is why the human race is a broken, messy collection of individuals. Even with God we still need each other. God himself realized this. After all Adam had the perfect relationship with his creator, but still something was missing. Seeing this God gave him Eve.

Humans need each other. Christians need other Christians. Even the ones who want to distance themselves from this fact cannot really escape it. It can be hard to make sense of it all. Rather than dig through all the countless theories and come to our own conclusion PEOPLE - JUST - QUIT.

So what can be done?

We need to to become the Body, the true Church again. Not a collection of people at this building or another, but the Bride of Christ. We need to truly care about each other. We need to seek and know the realness of Jesus.

We need to accept our ugliness and not give power to the shame that tries to attach itself to it. Love people. Engage them. The "sinners" of Jesus' time were often the most comfortable in His presence. We need unbelievers to want to be around us.

Forget making the right impression at church. Instead impact the people of the world. After all that is what we have been commissioned to do, right? We will find it doesn't take much and it comes with a sense of purpose that we just may be missing.

RELATIONSHIP not rules. CONNECTION and not theology.