Church Culture~!~

with long observation and a passion for the church world wide to be all that its meant to be and can be, i have noticed something that i have found! Its actually really subtle but very strong in churches~!~

We all know there is culture within our world today! along with culture comes diversity and with diversity comes stereotyping!

I have just studied what culture is and how diversity and stereotyping takes place within a culture~!~

Within churches i have experienced there is a culture going on that is unfortunately not a healthy one.

I see some churches are very closed off and unaware of what this world really is like! Its important to have an understanding of what the unsaved face in this world! We can never afford to turn our eyes off it! Because depression, anxiety, addiction, broken families (the list goes on) all this is real! and real and devastating to people who experience this!

But you know what! the people within church struggle with all this as well!

We hold the answer! and the answer is not to "get over it" but to go through it! this is what is lacking! compassion, nurture, support, mercy, grace, love understanding, pastoral care and so on!

time and time again, what i have experienced is that church crumbles and throws there hands up in the air not knowing what to do with all this brokenness! meanwhile these are the issues that the world lives and if we are meant to bring the unsaved in this is what they will bring with them in the church doors! Then because church doesn't know what to do, they try to resolve it all with "getting over it" conditional love because "i can't handle your problems" un-acceptance because "you are not in the place i want you to be".

To broken people all these are judgements on them! condemning remarks and totally not the heart of God!

Once i heard a christian speaker say "the church needs to know and acknowledge mental health issues" not to turn there face from it! AMEN to that!

So this culture within some churches is having to have it "all together" and having a glassy shinny exterior! and if you are not like that! well sorry i can not fully accept you!

I personally have struggled in churches with being real! the real me!

As i value being real and trying not to wear masks but just be real and honest! but i had fear going to church and being the real me which is broken and in pain!

broken people are broken! if you break something like a plate you can't just say to it, "get over it" and expect it to mend itself together!

same with Gods children! they are broken! and love, compassion, nurture and grace and patience is what will mend that brokenness! not the brutal words of expectation and judgement upon them!

To break this cycle of culture within some churches is possible! remember all things are possible! But We need to get the heart of God for people and for the individual! We also need to get in touch with a sacred romance from the father in Heaven! that sacred romance is the loving God! The God that weeps over His people who are hurting! the God who will take them on a journey of healing and continue to bring restoration just because He has chosen us and loves us!

the first break of a bad cycle is to firstly be aware of it and acknowledge it! but we need to want to face the truth to change! remember God can't give us what we don't want! if we don't really want Gods heart... sorry you are not going to get it! and playing with peoples lives is a risky thing! and need to start seeing it as a honour and not a number!!