I hate to say this, but it is so much a part of the life that I am now living that I can’t refrain. I love what I think the CHURCH should be like; however, the church has so screwed up the real Jesus, the historical and spiritual Jesus, that she (the church) no longer represents Him accurately. The church is now the bad PR agent for Jesus, the Christ. And when I say church, I am talking the fourth order house, universal church. The move from 16200 Hwy 249 to 10225 Woodedge also marked the name change from LRC (last letter church) to LRC (last letter Community). Church stands for too many bad impressions. Two weeks ago the Catholic church comes out and pontificates about how everyone who is not Roman Catholic is deceived, defective, and degenerate. Then last week, the Catholic Church in Los Angeles shells out $600,000,000.00 to compensate victims as a result of criminal priests, who face no jail time. Talk about “defective”. Enough!
I’m not oblivious to the fact that church and community are still made up of people, and it’s the PEOPLE that do the deeds; however, there comes a time that just being associated with an “entity“, no matter what it is, tells people all they need to know- they think.
Church? Hell no!
Spirituality? Sure!
George Barna blasted the religious community several years ago with his data concluding that people are walking away from “church” by the millions, but still seeking the spiritual life, which the church is not offering. People go to church for the “children’s programs”, the hot P&W team, the social standing, business people you can meet, bowling alleys, gymnasiums, and food court. Transformation isn’t a word that you’ll hear spoken.
Look what the church has done to Jesus!
The church which used to be the leading innovator in art has dried up and in the process created a Jesus who is one weird and odd looking person. There are Biblical “action pieces” that are so out of touch with reality that I want to scream. Jesus art (name the category) is pious, passive, pitiful, and of course European-American. The depiction of Jesus has absolutely nothing to do with the Synoptic gospel’s Jesus. Wherever Jesus went there was either trouble or a party! Where’s the art of that? Unfortunately Christian art is is wholly solemn and “other worldly”, which Jesus was and is not!
Give me a Jesus toasting to life, drinking wine, socializing, smiling, happy, and full of life!
Give me a Jesus with a whip in His hand turning over tables and demanding allegiance to God!
Just don’t give me any more of that religious, churchy, and holy crap! Seriously. Seeing Jesus as the incarnation of God and not human (even if you see Him as both fully human and fully divine), diminishes the reality of who Jesus really was, sets Him apart and unattainable as a role model for us. And bless God (I say tongue in cheek), we’re off the hook of having to fulfill John 14:2 because only “gods” can do what Jesus did!
Help me, help us Jesus, the LRC community to represent you rightly and fully!
PS. When’s the last time you checked out this radical website- CLICK HERE! 
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