Christianity Is Not A Social Club

Elizabeth shares powerful insight into the Pharisaical nature of some Christians when they come in contact with sinners, or simply people they don't consider Godly enough. Too often, they have an unwillingness to forgive or even consider a person is trying to repent or live right for GOD.

Allow me to get personal for a minute. I am a divorced, single mother. Yes, I know divorce is a sin. And believe me, that is certainly by far NOT the only sin I am guilty of. And I am also aware that I am not the ONLY one who has ever sinned. We all have.

And yet, there have been times when I have come to church, that I have felt the heavy stares of judgment. More often than not, I have felt uncomfortable, like I don't fit in. I can't count the number of times where I have walked in alone, and walked out alone after service was over, and not one person said anything to me. Am I not supposed to be there? Am I wearing the wrong clothes? Or maybe it's because I didn't bring my Bible with me? Or maybe because I do not have a husband to accompany me... was I supposed to have one of those? I don't know if it's all in my head. It could be. But the point is, I still FEEL that way.

Now as Christians, I ask you, how are we supposed to be "fishers of men" as Jesus put it, when we turn the net into a trap?

I go to Tucson Community Church, what many people would consider a non-traditional church. It's known as "The Cool Church," and we have fun while praising GOD. Our bands rock hard, and our pastors avoid "churchy" language in our teachings. But this is not "church lite." The philosophy of ministry stresses GOD's Word, getting right with GOD, and living right for GOD. How can we do this? 1 Corinthians 9:22:

"I become all things to all people that by all means I might save some."

GOD encourages us to spread His Word in all sorts of ways, to all people. Unfortunately, many people who have grown up in traditional churches think it's an absolute sin to worship GOD in any contemporary way.

A few months ago, I accepted an invitation to attend church in the Phoenix area with some friends of mine. They are a beautiful and Godly family who live right for GOD every day. They attend a traditional conservative Baptist church, and while I enjoyed the service, I also felt a bit out of place. I took along my NIV Bible, and I almost started reading from it until one of my friends whispered to me, "That's not going to match!" This church was using the King James Version, a beautiful translation, but one I find hard to understand.

We talked about it later over lunch, and one member of the family told me, "Well, the King James Version has been around for hundreds of years. We don't know how long the NIV version will be around."

Maybe I was taking it too hard, but I felt sad, as if this person was hinting I couldn't trust the Bible I held in my hand. To be sure, the NIV translation has problems for people in my own church. My pastor takes issue with the number of times it uses the word "sovereign" for GOD, implying that GOD is completely in charge of everything that happens in the world, when 1 John 5:19 tells us, "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." However, we don't cast a hairy eyeball at those who read the NIV, especially if they understand the truth about good and evil in the world.

But that's small stuff. This family is still friends with me and vice versa. I know they would never attend my church, and that's fine with me, and with GOD. I love them as Brothers and Sisters in Christ all the same. I grew up in a traditional church, after all.

However, some of us know Pharisees, those people who think they have a lock on the right way to worship and live for GOD through rules of their own making not backed up by the Bible. Anybody else is automatically a sinner. It's the religious equivalent of that infamous line from Bravo's Real Housewives of New York City: "You're down here and I'm up here." (I don't watch that show, and hearing that on a Nightline profile gave me another reason to avoid it.)

Jesus warned us about these kinds of people in Matthew 23:5-11 (NIV):

"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'

"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant.

So Jesus gives us direction: don't compare yourself to Pharisees, who are looking to put themselves above others and show off. Compare yourself to GOD's Word and humble yourself.

Christianity is not a battering ram. It is not an exclusive organization by which we can shut people out. GOD's gift of Salvation is for everyone who accepts Christ and follows Him. Shame on those Christians who lay guilt trips on repentant sinners or shun those who don't measure up to man-made non-Biblical standards of holiness. We already have too many stereotypes of "Bible-thumpers," ones we helped create.