Stop just going to church and “be” the church!

A lot is being said about the lack of leadership in our black communities. Folk are blaming a lack of unity as the reason that we can’t come up with a solid solution to the violence on the streets of Jacksonville. There are 47 documented gangs running loose in Jacksonville. They are dangerous because many of them are cheap imitations of something they saw on TV or what they hear in rap lyrics. No one is equipped to go out and challenge these thugs who get their street cred’ from how much disrespect that they can show to authority. Coming together and unifying may sound good but without a plan of attack nothings going change.

Everybody is talking about there is no unity amongst our pastors and our local churches in this city. Unity amongst pastors and local churches is not the solution to this spirit of murder and violence in our city. The church has never been able to “come together”, “get along”, or lay aside our doctrinal differences and stop competing. There are over 220 known and established denominations in the U.S. alone. Many aren’t even aware that there is one Lord, one Faith and one baptism, one universal church.

Here is the deal. Let’s be honest, if every local church would stop having church and stop going to church and just “be” the church we could win our city back, one street at a time. We haven’t been called to just meet on Sundays and a few show up for prayer and bible study during the week. Christianity is to be lived–after the benediction. We’ve been called to take the church where the gates of hell are and establish the kingdom. (Matthew 16:18) The Kingdom is “God’s rule” in the lives of people. How? We are called to empower them, educate them and to meet their felt needs. This also includes economically by (employing them) and spiritually (presenting Jesus) and not our denominational dogmas.

Why have buildings and don’t use them. Why don’t we live in the district or neighborhood that we pastor and worship in? Why are we not investing in the lives of our young people from the crib, by teaching them morals, ethics, values and the word of God before they are in the juvenile justice system. We need to stop looking to the church as we know it. Every church is not a church. Every church building we see does not mean a church meets there. If every real local church would individually get busy doing what God has assembled them to do we would bump into each other on the streets as we transform our communities one street at time. If we took ownership this would at least reduce the hell that has us on lockdown. And we would at least stop scratching our heads and biting and devouring one another pointing a finger at everybody but ourselves.

We need to stop pointing fingers and put some skin in the game. Church arise and educate these young people, economically empower these youth, socially minister to their felt needs and spiritually serve the people, young and old, in the communities we’ve been placed in with the gospel of the kingdom and watch God move on our behalf, FOR HIS GLORY.

Ask yourself the question, What am I doing to make things better and is my local assembly having church or being the church? IJS

—Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin