What If…?
A speech on Fox News by Judge Napolitano got him fired. In that speech, he asked a long series of questions beginning with “What if”. I would propose that a similar speech be given to all the churches today.
What if Jesus really did come to unlock prison doors and lift heavy burdens, instead of making the doors thicker and the burdens heavier?
What if Jesus really meant it when he told people to “go, and sin no more”, instead of forgiving people who never repented?
What if Jesus treated women and the poor as equals with men and the rich, perhaps even better?
What if Jesus really did “go to prepare a place for you” and will literally come back for us?
What if Jesus meant it when he told a Samaritan woman living with her seventh boyfriend that the time had come to give up sacred buildings and rituals in favor of “spirit and truth”, rather than telling this first to his inner circle of disciples?
What if Christians had never ignored Jesus’ command to arrange themselves according to a bottom-up order rather than the top-down model of the world?
What if Christians lived by the Golden Rule, regardless of the color or gender of people’s flesh?
What if Christians helped each other instead of erecting costly buildings and furnishings, to the point where “there were no needy among them”?
What if Christians used all the money they gave for furthering the Gospel and showing compassion to the lost, instead of using most of it for programs, places, and parties?
What if Christians stopped trying to frighten or shame the lost into a relationship with God?
What if Christians took personal responsibility for their spiritual growth and maturity, instead of being dependent upon paid pastors and magical “covering”?
What if pastors stopped using a spiritual gift (mentioned only once in scripture) as a title and a position of authority?
What if pastors stopped being paid for what others do for free, earning the reward sought by Paul for laying aside his rights to compensation in this life?
What if pastors stopped yelling at people like a boss over employees or a parent over children?
What if pastors stopped making Sunday services all about them?
What if pastors stopped being corporate CEOs who then whine about the heavy burden they carry?
What if pastors stepped down from the podium to put themselves on the level of everyone else?
What if pastors led by example rather than authoritarian decree?
What if pastors relied on the truth of the Word rather than polished and prepared lectures and their oratorical skills?
What if pastors taught the people how to feed themselves, rather than spoon-feeding them and making them dependent on a mere human instead of the Holy Spirit?
What if the Christian community actually behaved like one?
What if the Christian community agreed on the Gospel and how to spread it?
What if the Christian community disbanded all those committees, sold all those buildings, studied the Bible for themselves, and connected with each other by networking rather than memberships and laws?
What if the Christian community actually modeled itself after the human body with its many and equal parts, rather than the world’s chains of command?
What if the Christian community was known more for what it supports, than what it opposes?
What if the Christian community policed itself and rid itself of rapists, perverts, extortioners, cronyism, hypocrisy, worldliness, and falsehood?
What if the Christian community believed Paul when he said that Christian values are only applicable to the Christian community, rather than trying to impose morality over the world at large?
What if the Christian community, based on the quality of the individuals, actually became the “salt” and “light” Jesus told us to be, changing the world one person at a time?
What if the Christian community stopped squabbling about who has authority over whom, whose “vision” is being followed, and whose professional staff is the most entertaining and “edgy”?
What if the Christian community actually modeled Jesus and stopped trying to be the Holy Spirit?