THE PRESENCE BASED CHURCH Everyone, picture your own home now. It’s the place where you can go when you can’t go anywhere else. It’s the shelter for you, your family, your memories and your possessions. It’s yours. Well guess what? God longs to be one of the family, a permanent resident in your home. Churches are built for the presence of God to live in, not to visit. This concept originates in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible. Exodus 19, 33 and 35 tells of God’s presence among the people as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In Exodus 25 and Deuteronomy 10 the Ark of the Covenant is the resting place and earthly throne of God. In 2 Samuel 7, David wanted to build a house for God but the prophet Nathan told David that his son Solomon would conduct that capital campaign and build his house. Until then, God continued to abide in a tent with a mercy seat, his home on earth as mobile as the children of Israel themselves. There are plenty of references of God residing with us in the New Testament. In Matthew 21:12-13, Jesus angrily told temple-sanctioned thieves that they had turned his father’s house into a robbers’ den. God’s presence was not among those hypocrites. And John 1:14 says, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus is the presence of God among us. Jesus lives within us today by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Presence Based Church practices Christ-centered, not people-centered worship. In whatever style of worship, we seek to create an atmosphere that pleases God, not ourselves. And because our motives are pure, God comes and dwells with us. The Presence Based Church by Terry Teykl was published by Prayer Point Press in 2003. Rev. Tekyl is a United Methodist pastor and prayer evangelist who helps congregations take a good look at themselves, and determine whose church they belong to. He says the presence or absence of God’s spirit determines what kind of church it is. Listen, “Here’s the hard truth—in many churches today, the Presence of God is absent…. He doesn’t sign the attendance book on Sunday and he’s on the inactive roll. The people show up to fill a seat and take advantage of programs tailored to their needs that are wholesome yet spiritually neutered. They never experience the Presence of God, and in fact they haven’t experienced it in so long, if ever, that they don’t even know it’s missing. If they did, they might not care. The Presence of God is not necessarily welcome or essential (pp.11-12).” Wow! Tekyl describes two types of churches: the Consumer Based Church, represented by Martha; and the Presence Based church, represented by Mary. In today’s scripture, Luke 10, the Martha Church is a good place with lots of ministries and hard workers with an emphasis on serving people. Martha is hospitable and welcoming. After all, she is the one who invited Jesus home. She was the sister in the kitchen preparing the meal. Everything she did was necessary, and it still is. Think of how poor WUMC would be without our Fellowship Team. There is just one problem with the Martha Church in Luke’s gospel -- it is too busy with tasks to be with Jesus. Distractions overpower mission. Now, the Presence Based Church is the Mary Church. Mary is hospitable and welcoming also, except she stops what she’s doing to give Jesus her undivided attention. She values his presence above all else. The main difference between the Martha and Mary Church is that the Martha Church is primarily concerned on fulfilling the needs and desires of people—consumers. It has a social club feel, and its number one purpose is to keep people happy. Tekyl says, “They are so caught up in the work of the Lord, they have no time for the Lord of the work (p56).” On the other hand, the primary purpose of the Mary Church lies with God. Worship, fellowship, small groups, everything is based on what God wants. Decisions are grounded in prayer and scripture; leaders seek deeper spirituality. The Mary Church is God’s home for the transformation of lives. It exists for God’s glory, not for people. It is the bride that is faithfully working and waiting for her groom, Jesus. Everything that is said and done is for God. Motive is essential. Let’s take a moment to answer these questions in our hearts: Is Waynesville UMC like a Consumer Based Church, designed like a social club? Or a Presence Based Church where lives are changed to be more like Christ? Is the spirit of Jesus Christ welcomed and honored or ignored and shunned? Is our worship expressed through love, longing and adoration for God? When you enter this building do you strive for excellence in thought, word and deed? Or are we motivated by apathy, habit and a take it for granted attitude? Does the spirit of Christ live within you, or is there no room at the inn? Do pride, stubbornness, un-forgiveness, stinginess and other sins clutter the spaces of your heart? What kind of church are you? What kind of church do you want to be? Our challenge today is to be a church for God, not ourselves. Now we are blessed with an opportunity to be in the presence of Jesus at His Table. Wesleyan doctrine teaches us that the real presence of Christ is with us in the breaking of the bread and in the sharing of the cup. As our host Christ Jesus awaits, let us humbly confess our sins and then kneel at his feet to listen to him as did Mary. |