Questioning the Church?

After a Sunday School session yesterday, I began to get frustrated about the church.  I think many of us go along with what society or our church believes without knowing why or questioning whether that goes in line with our own walk.

One of the things that I think we fail to grasp is the concept of grace.  This Grace was bestowed upon us by God, without any action from us.  He created us in his image to be a companion to him.  We didn't do anything to deserve that. We have just done everything in our human nature to mess it up.  Grace means the undeserved, unmerited, loving action of God in human existence through the ever present Holy Spirit.  While the Grace of God is undivided, it precedes salvation as "prevenient grace", continues in "justifying grace", and is brought to fruition in "sanctifying grace."

Prevenient Grace is the divine love that surrounds all humanity and any and all of our conscious impulses.  This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding of God's will, and our first slight transient conviction of having sinned against God.

The ministry of all Christians in Christ's name and spirit is both a gift and a task.  The gift of God's unmerited grace, the task is unstinting service.  Entrance into the church is acknowledged in baptism and may include persons of all ages.  In this sacrament the church claims the promise, the seal of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Baptism is followed by nuture and the consequent awareness by the baptized of the claim to ministry in Christ placed upon their lives by the church.  Such a ministry is ratified in confirmation, where the pledges of baptism are accepted and renewed for life and mission.

An infant, chhild, or adult who is baptized becomes a member of the catholic(universal) church, of the denomination, and a baptized member of the local congregation.  After Baptism, the Church provides the nuture which makes possible a comprehensive and lifelong process of growing in grace. Becoming a professing member requires the answer of faith of the baptized person made visible in a service of Professional of Christian Faith and confirmation using the vows of the baptismal covenant.

I am grateful for a church that allows me to question what I believe and why as I struggle to grow closer to God in my walk.  What would Jesus say about the church if he came back today?  I think he would say that we are getting caught up in the small stuff.  I think he talked about 2 important comandments: Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your spirit.  The other is to Love your neighbors as yourself.  If we strive to do that, then I think all the other stuff is small potatoes...