Friday 1 June 2007

Ikea Style Christianity


My wife is a great fan of Ikea and I can’t tell you how many Ikea products we have around the house. Believe it or not, even when we have been overseas we have had to visit Ikea stores and even brought some things there!

Now don’t get me wrong, I like some of the stuff that Ikea has, I am getting really good at putting the purchases together and I have never found they have made a mistake about what screws and fixtures that were needed. I think their stores are really tricky – you know how you have to go through the entire store to get to the end (that is until you work out that there are some very well disguised short cuts).

It seems to me, some people are looking for an Ikea style Christianity – one that they can take home and put together just how they want it. Flat packing and DIY are OK for some things, but that’s not how to serve God!

Have you ever met people who say they are “shopping” for a church? I come across this often. It saddens me to think that people are looking for a church to suit them, rather than looking for the church that suits God. I don’t know about you, but I would be much more confident being in a church that I know God likes rather than one that matches my own set of criteria.

We read in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For a time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.”

Christ built His church, he didn’t leave it for us to put together with allan keys. Some people want to put Christ’s church together to their own specifications. They want it according to their own style.

We have instructions about the church. We don’t have a set of picture book instructions; we have the Bible – the word of God. In it we are told how the church is to look, how it is to work and how we are to serve God.

Ikea has come up with many great innovations and they are very popular. I has a great business model. But that is not the model for the church. Christ died for the church – we owe it to Him to serve Him how He asked us to.

6 comments:

Choc Mint Girl said...

Hey, don't preach on me...just joking :). Honestly, it is something...kind effort.

Keith Thomson said...

Hey, ghoc mint girl - I gota preach - that's my job. Seriously though, have a think about it.

Keith

J.L. Murphey said...

Keith,

I applaud you efforts here. But I do disagree here, "Shopping" for a church is not only about finding a church that fits your style...for me shopping for a church was finding a Spirit filled pastor and members. I can't count how many churches I attended before I found mine. The church whether in your heart and in your spirit it has to mesh. So many churches are into the dogma of the faith rather than the Spirit. It's a sad I passed over so many churches because of no Spirit.

Jo

Keith Thomson said...

Hi Jo,

thanks for all your great comments, I really appriciate them.

The trouble with "shopping" for a church is that people often are wanting a church to suit them, rather than suiting God. We need to look for the church that is described in the Bible. After all that is the church that Christ built.

We need "spirit" but we also need "truth" (John 4:23). Unfortunatly many churches are focused on spirit only.

There is a warning that Christ gives in Matthew 7:21. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the Father who is in heaven."

We need to make sure we do the will of the Father - that is found in His word the Bible.

Keep reading His word.

Keith

Choc Mint Girl said...

Don't worry. I'm serious about my religion too...Thanks!

Keith Thomson said...

Hi Choc mint girl, nice to hear from you again. Yep, it important to be serious about religion - we don't like to think about it but there will be a day when ALL will be serious about religion Romans 14:10-11

Keith