Faith-on-a-Plate and the Dreadded Stage Four

(an encore in the moan about church series)

I was in SPCK with a friend the other day just browsing around and in browsing through all the useless parafinalia and God spoke to me saying `you don't need this stuff` and long story short, saying that a person with a need will find a remedy (for example in a a Christian bookshop), but an invention of man doens't find its necessity in retail. More specifically, a praying woman who's lost her husband may find a Christian bookshop of some use for literature with regard to coping and seeking God there, however, eighteen year old Ben's who don't *need* a rubber with `Smile Jesus loves you` printed on it in some sweatshop in China is wasting his time and money on such indulgent frivolities.

I'm not saying that all the pointless supephelous objects have no place whatsoever: any reminder of God's love lying around the desk at work or on the fridge cannot hurt, but I think, naive spoilt Chrsitians can get lost in the `things`.

I had a friend who went to String Harvest a few years back and came home and didn't say anything about the movement of God - but boasted her new sweater and T-Shirt with the current in Chrsitian slogan slapped on it.
In a similar vein, I've seen people at youth group in the past who have come in sporting bags, badges and all he bracelts proclaiming their devotion to Christ, but in worship just stand around texting their mates.
It's a difficult thing to ponder - there's a dangeroulsy narrow margin between judgement and blind-acceptence, but I think the scenario can be summised in the word `indulgence`.

The paradigm that has been so obvious to me in the four or five years of being a Christian is the pretty little Christian family who've bought their children to church from an early age, and have, as such, grown up almost immune to sanctity of the presence of God. The parents (dutiful faithful servants they are) indulge their children with all the hoodies, all the Soul Survivour tickets, drive them to all the youth groups and always offer for them to say grace at the perfectly prepeared dinner... (always pray for their health and welbeing before bed) - however, in this situation, there's the prevailing theme of indulgence: whether it be in love, the atmosphere of church, the blessings of life etc.

Now - that's all brilliant and on paper, probably what God wants for us (in the main)! But I think back to when I became a Christian in high school* and I looked at a lot of the people my age who fitted the pattern I described above and in hindsight, I confess myself jelous. I remember having to fight for my blessings. I (for example) wressled against an alcoholic father and living the wrong side of Norfolk from most of my best Christian friends. I remember when my main source of Spiritual fulfilment (fridays) was changed from fortnightly to monthly and still seeing these people who had no difficulties in life and their *plastic* walk with God - and my heart burned part in envy of their faith-on-a-plate lifestyle and part ... welll ... coveting of their faith-on-a-plate lifestyle.

But in hindsight, I praise God for my upbringing as a Chrsitian. I praise God that I know my relationship with Him was borne of a deep longing and journey to find Him instead of being called Christian from birth. Of course it is good that people are bought up with God in their lives, and I intend to raise my children in the same thread- however, I'd like my children to have to struggle with God like Jacob (Gen 32) because although many people call themselves Chrsitians because they chose to be born again - the other not so often mentioned question is would you choose to be a Christian in spite of everything life has to through at you? Job kept his faith because his choice was between God and loss of everything. However, the question evangelists pose today is `will you follow Christ?` without mention of the possible loss of anything except that magazine under your mattress.

I often think that to the dangerously passive prole in life - being a Christian must be the easiest thing in the world...

1- Be sinner

2i- Go to preacher seminar
2ii- Be convicted
2iii- Be Born again
2iv- Raise hands

3i- Join church
3ii- Shake hands, raise hands (at appropriate places)
3iii- Serve Tea

5- Join house group

6- Share testimony/sermonette

7- Join worship band

8- Join deaconate

And to the non-thinking in society, that's a pretty good set up. With all the Christian literature and `Smile Jesus loves you` rubbers makeing sure you pray everyday, that approach can only work wonders. But that's just another example of faith-on-a-plate... this is the TV model of evangelism (IMO) and doesn't involve step four:

4i- Drive home
4ii- Hit tree while rumaging in glove box for newest Rebecca St James CD so you have something to talk about at the next cream tea morning
4iii- Loose both legs, husband and put youngest child on life support for a three month coma with a sorry end 4iv- Realise husband was main source of income and had no life assurance. Haven't been at church long enough for material help from the fellowship and loose house so live with sister in crack-town.
4v- Suddenly time is too preoccupied with grief to pray
4vi- Pastor's wife comes to visit and finds you after your second back2back ten hour shift at the chemical factory and you suddenly remember that people once wore floral dresses before the accident.
4vii- Pastor's wife asks if you wnat to pray but you're not ready to open that door again.

Okay maybe that's a stupidly exadurated example, but in the first instance, there's no strugglisng to find God - or to keep Him. I respect my mother, she fits in to the scenario well. She's bordering on stage eight at the moment, but doens't preach properly quite yet, but she's doing well seeing as she's been a Christian about seven years (then she's another blindly passive one!) but she had the same stage four as me, and truth be told, I recon she had a harder time of it than me. I battled my father's alcoholism with blocking tactics and diversion, whereas she tackled it with love (only eventually being successful)... But I know that both of our faiths are strengthened by the stage four.

PR Church borders on this**, only by things like When the Music Fades and about keeping your faith firm on the rock - but the sermons I've heard all talk about the blessings of God and assume a perfect textbook faith-on-a-plate audience. Perhaps the stage four is a blot on the PR that church likes to bring, but as a Chrsitian, I think it's a very useful self analysis to ask

Where would I be without Jesus?
What's the biggest thing I've chosen Jesus over?
what's the biggest thing Jesus has chosen me over?


Charles Wesley writes:
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

I think we could all do to be aware of the place from which we've been saved............

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* I have no intention at all to extol myself - I was/am an idiot of a Christian in my early days and probably just as materialistic as the people i accused.

** PR Church - like plastic Church. The image a church likes to portray where everything's nice and happy and accepting Jesus is the end of all your troubles and you join a church where everyone's young and pretty and people are enticed by shallow aesthetics _{*cough* awesome generation *cough*}