Church Physiology- aka Exercise

I woke this morning to the sound of a nation on the move. Champions of Health Care Legislation were celebrating and pressing forward. It's opponents were mobilizing, restructuring, and getting the word out. Their passion and their action, regardless of which side they were on, was coming together and the people of our nation were doing something.

Reading through Facebook statii and posts, it is easy to see that we have something that has caught the interest of a lot of people, and spurred a normally sedate interest in politics to a fever pitch. Ordinary folks over the last year or so have gotten involved in political groups, started campaigning when they never have before, thought of running for office, and actually called or emailed their representatives. Be their reasoning anger, concern, encouragement, or something else, one thing is clear: People are starting to care enough to do something.

Then, I think of churches across our nation. While there are many that are moving and doing something, many more are sedentary. I'm not talking about them being politically active- sadly many churches have become political voices, as if that is our true savior. No, I mean churches are just another place to be entertained, or educated for a few hours a week. We will talk about helping the poor, or people in general, but talk is all we do. I think about the many times I've stood before churches begging for volunteers to work at some Bible Study for kids, or local mission project. Week after week, we'd see a few new people almost reluctantly agree to help, already the weariness setting into their eyes.

Yet those same people now probably have a fire in their eyes over the events in our nation's capital. I don't think it is wrong in and of itself to exercise your political muscle, but if we do it to the exclusion of exercising our following-Christ muscle, then it is. Why do we have such a hard time getting excited or impassioned over our God? Is it because it's easier when we have an enemy we cans see, in the form of policies or politicians? When was the last time we saw a real mobilization of believers across the nation for the purpose of simply proclaiming Christ?

Within American Christianity, we do have movements, like Pro-Life, and Promise Keepers, and Passion ...well, I'm sure there are others. I think it is telling that it is difficult to think of real genuine movements for Christ. We have spent too much time securing our safety and our rights and protecting OUR place in the Kingdom, that we have neglected to remember our call- to follow Christ and live as He did. That means sharing God with people, not just through words, but through lives, through service, through love.

It is time for us to exercise, to mobilize, and to organize. The Body must move, or it will atrophy and die.