Pop the Bubble

So recently I've really been struggling with the Church and how she is impacting this world. I've been reading a few books on it, a few of your blogs, and just in general observing for myself. I'm by no means an expert on the subject and most likely have contributed to the problem, but I really feel God calling me, tugging on my heart to make a change. I'm currently reading They Like Jesus, But Not the Church, by Dan Kimball. This excerpt from the book really opened my eyes.

Life in the Christian Bubble

" Then I began noticing what most of us talk about. Generally it's the latest Christian band or concert or what's happening at the church. As I recognized that we really only socialize with our Christian friends, I also recognized that overall, we are complacent about those outside the church. We aren't thinking about their eternal destiny. We aren't concerned about whether they're experiencing the abundant life Jesus offers. We are more concerned about whether there will be good snow on our church ski trip than about the spiritual status or our neighbors and the people we work with everyday. I became aware that I didn't hear much concern about those who don't know Jesus yet. We are all about making church better for ourselves and making our lives more comfortable in the Christian Bubble we have created."

"I didn't hear too much heartbreak for people outside the church among church leaders either. Church leaders are mainly dealing with complaints about last week's sermon or complaints that the music wasn't good enough, along with threats that people might go to another church where these things are better. When church leaders feel pressure from this kind of complaining, naturally the focus becomes having better programs, music, and activities to keep their people in their churches. Pastors face subtle pressure from Christian parents to have good youth programs to make sure that their kids stay away from the bad non-Christian kids and have the opportunity to meet other Christians. The whole thing feeds itself, isolating us from the outside world. It feels like we're building this social, spiritual, and consumeristic infrastructure, and Christians are only demanding more of it, building a stronger and thicker bubble around us, protecting us from the outside while we crate this very strange Christian subculture inside. But it had happened to me so slowly that I hadn't even noticed."

That us. The Church. The people that have been called to reach out and help the poor, hungry and beaten down, the least of these, but what have we done. We put ourselves in a bubble and keep to ourselves and in the process push others away. So it makes me question how many LOST people I have as friends and spend some time with during the week. The answer is pretty sad considering the number of lost people I encounter and have some sort of relationship. So my challenge for you and really for myself: Step out of the bubble.