He who has ears, let him hear!: Of chickens, eggs and mammoth

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

The idea of church is no longer popular. Many believers do not see the point of coming any longer. What more for unbelievers.

Sometimes, I think the blame cuts both ways. People should be chastened if they are giving up the habit of meeting together. The church also should bear the blame if the idea of church is no longer relevant to people.

It's like this. I see a rascal on the street. Why did he turn out like that? I'll say because he never went to school when he was young. And he never listened to his teachers.

I go to school, and I say the students don't want to learn. They are not worth teaching. They just come and create problems. So, I say they'd be better off if they don't come to school at all.

Then when I meet a rascal, I say it's because he never went to school.

Who's to blame. The chicken or the egg?

We want people to fill the pews in church, But we don't want to admit that the speakers we put up there may be, at best, boring... Or, at worst, incompetently untrained. And we expect people to come away inspired and encouraged.

We want people to come to prayer meetings. But our prayer items are regulated in a way that misses the relevance of things happening around us, or to our own lives. And we expect normal Christians (normal, meaning Christians who don't usually pray only for the church and its ministries all the time) to come.

We want people to attend cell group meetings in homes. But we do it in a way where there is little or no difference as a church meeting. And we expect unbelievers to come in an feel at home.

We want people to be serious about coming for Bible study. But we do it in the same way over and over again. And we expect people from different age groups, different levels of maturity and different learning habits to find it useful and enjoyable.

There have been many instances when people come out from mainstream denominations to form their own churches. Many times, it is out of frustration. "Positive frustration", if you know what I mean. They want to come out, and start something new. Something better. Something that is only possible if it is done outside the umbrella of the mainstream denomination.

When that happens... Denominationalists automatically cast a prejudiced eye on such churches. Even if those "splinter-group churches, a.k.a. independent churches" could be doing better, when matched point for point and ministry for ministry... It's all considered "inferior" and assumed to be "wrong" in some way or another because of denominational prejudice.

I won't go into whether or not those "prejudices" are good or bad. I'm just pointing out that there is such a thing.

So, what's the moral of the story?

The moral of the story is...

Sometimes we cannot shake our heads at only one party.

We have to tepuk dada, tanya selera.

Which is it?

The chicken? Or...

The egg?

I'm using a picture of a funny chicken and a cartoon egg, hoping that it will break some tension in considering serious thoughts.

* * * * * * * * * *

One Sunday, I heard a speaker say this:

"We must not love mammoth."

*hee hee... snicker*

I know I'm bad... I shouldn't not make fun of one, small misspoken word. But I can't help but muffle a giggle...