Blockbuster

At Church on Sunday, the preacher used Blockbuster as an example of not knowing your true mission.  Blockbuster's mission was to provide a location where customers could go and rent movies, Netflix understood the mission was to get movies into houses.

Also yesterday morning, I saw a facebook post stating that most Churches are not preaching the values taught by Jesus but their own values. It used the term “Churchanity” (which I had never heard of before)

I have heard people often state Church attendance as a metric of how the Church is doing. However, this completely misses what the true mission of the Church is.  The mission is to make disciples; to teach others to follow the life and teachings of Jesus.

Matthew 28-19-20 -  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus taught to love our enemy and to not resist an evil person - The USA government spends more on the military than any other country in the world and our citizens purchase more guns than any other country.

Jesus taught to forgive.  The USA has the highest rate of incarceration in the world.

Jesus went around healing people - The USA is the only industrialized country in the world not to provide healthcare for all its citizens.

Jesus taught to feed the hungry and to be good news to the poor.  The USA has recently  eliminated USAid (to feed poor countries) and cut funds to provide for the poor in this country.

Jesus said to welcome the stranger. The USA policy is to demonize them.

The USA does not have Christian values; its values reflect its citizens. That is ok, Christian values can not be forced on anyone, else they cease to be Christian values. However, it is critical for the Church to have Christian values and to teach them. They are to attract others through the self-sacrificially love of Jesus. They are to reject the earthly power of empire. When the Church is more concerned with membership, it has missed it’s true mission.  I do expect the Church however to teach the values of Christ, even if it negatively impacts their membership.