Following the last post on church trends emerging from electronic media and culture, someone pointed me towards a satire called 'me | Church'. This short video, intended for sermon illustration is a brilliant parody on how society's values can permeate the church.
You can check out the online version of the clip here. I found it very amusing, but it points towards serious questions that affect the spiritual vitality of any church. Are we shaped by
- Consumerism or the cross?
- Satisfaction or sacrificial service?
- Getting or giving?
- Happiness or holiness?
- Convenience or Christ-likeness?
There are major issues of heart and attitude at stake which run deeper than some of the behaviours and choices they generate. Being late for church is not just about poor timekeeping…
LifeChanging 
Hi, there –
Awesome post, Hugh – This is so accurate…And I am thinking…One of my elders (Dan) says this: Once we enter the Kingdom of God, there is only one Culture for us to operate in: the Kingdom Culture…and that Culture transcends everything else that we’ve ever lived by. We cannot base what we accept, how we behave, what we do, or how we view things upon our own human thoughts and desires, or upon the standards of this age. Lord Jesus is our God and our King. We live by HIS standards…we conform to HIS Culture. Everything else, whether it is a flesh thing, an idea thing, a national thing – whatever – everything else must be evaluated in light of the Culture of the One Who died for us and for Whom we live.
I am so grateful for both of my elders and for their Godly leadership…they aren’t afraid to speak the Word of Life as Lord Jesus intended it to be spoken. I am so glad that they follow the standards of a Kingdom Culture. Our Lord Jesus, our God, never soft-pedalled or apologized for the holiness of God. He warned the people that they must count the cost. “Me-Churches” don’t prepare anyone for Heaven – and they certainly don’t build disciples who will be likely to stand to the end amidst hardships.
I recently bought a copy of “The Heavenly Man”…If Brother Yun had been raised up in a Me-Church, I wonder if he would have endured the things that he has gone through. But he knows his King – he knows his Saviour – and he has committed to a Kingdom Culture to the very end.
Hallelujah!!
By: kls on June 1, 2006
at 2:55 pm