Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Matthew 9:37-38


Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Psalm 84:10
This is the scripture that Door Holders at Passion City Church use to explain their role. A Door Holder sees the glory inside, and chooses to hold the door open for others to experience it. This seems to be the mantra that PCC works by.

Today, I was with several Christian friends at a Steak n Shake, and we started talking about various churches. Passion City came up in conversation, and a very condemning thing was said about my home church: it doesn't really serve. It is a brand. It is the experience of worship. The church asks for my money, and for amazing things, and it deals with massive, weighty issues – but I attend the church, and I have not one time served the needy in the area.

Passion City is “for God, for People, for the City, for the World.” I feel the church as a whole narrows on the onerous “world” problems, while neglecting the people around it. Either that, or I haven't been queued into the monthly service events that PCC serves the community in. PCC has a periodic free dinner for their college-aged attendees – no! PCC has special gatherings for its collegiates – NO!

Passion City Church has such a large congregation of people that we only ask to come for one service a week. There are smaller events that aren't run directly by Passion that bear its name – fan-groups, if you will – but for the most part I feel that people attend this church because it is an unparalleled worship experience. Because they are not told of opportunities to serve there, they go home thinking there aren't any. Instead of asking them to find these opportunities on their own, why not find them?

I would rather go out with my Passion family to the tents of the wicked. I get the feeling this verse silently continues,

Though Your courts are open to all, and I will spend a thousand days in the tents of the wicked, and be the doorkeeper to them when they come to Your courts.”(Non Scriptura)

Passion City Church is a force for God in this world, and I want the best for it. To do this, I will direct more of my energies to helping the city around me, and telling them about Passion. While doing this, I will lobby for Passion to do the same. Matthew 9:37-38 depicts this beautifully:

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:37-38

I will leave on this. This last passage is my aim in life. I wan to be that worker. If you know a way for this message to get to Louie or anyone working on Passion's staff, please send this to them. I do not want to send it myself, for I feel it would be an affront to the humble nature I strive to attain in this world of pride. I will stay late next Sunday, asking for an ear. 

2 comments:

  1. How have your thoughts changed since the "Winsome" series??

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  2. I see you wrote this in 2012, and I have attended PCC since 2013, and I can tell you it's nothing like you describe. They serve the comunity huge, i.e. LOVE ATLANTA, APS book donation, backpacks and more. As I read this I sense someone who is young, lacking wisdom and sprirtually immature, basically clueless and your writing a blog full of opinion and no facts, it's almost comical, but sad and so typical of the interwebz. And BTW PCC worship is average, to above average experience, it is by no means an "experience" in the sense that its so amazing its the only reason people come, and compared to other worship experiences I have had, it's average, with a dash of celebrity. PCC is not a "brand" anyone who says or thinks this has resentment built by filament of regret and/or jealousy reverberated by envy. It is a Jesús/gospel outreach centered church with a sprinkle of theology and above average worship and a great place to serve God and the community. If you don't like it, here in the Bible belt, there is a church on every corner just for you.

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