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Mitch Todd About Mitch

Church Is For Losers

Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.
—Luke 17:33

I have this ongoing problem. See, some of the coolest people I know don't go to church. My best friend and my brother, for instance. They are both believers, and they're both really cool people. They just don't go to church. Oh, we've talked about it for years and years. They have their reasons for not going, and I've all but given up convincing them it's the place to be. Maybe it's my own low self esteem or something... but I can't help but wonder:

Is Church For Losers?

I've decided that it is. Now don't get me wrong, I know all kinds of neat people who attend church. But I've decided that the only people who really get something out of church are losers... or folks who want to be losers. Some examples:

Church is for people who want to lose weight. I'm not talking about dieters here, I'm talking about people who feel like they have the weight of the world hanging on their shoulders. People for whom life has become a real burden. Making ends meet, finding meaning in all the confusion, searching for a glimmer of hope. Church is the perfect place for those people. I've often referred to the church as a Hope Factory. That's what we are called to produce in our churches. Hope! Hope works like nothing else to lighten the load in people's lives. If you're looking to lose weight, church is the place for you.

Church is for people who want to lose sleep. 1 Corinthians 16.13 says "Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong." Some people sleep through their whole lives, missing out on the deep meaning, the growing in wisdom, the standing up for what's important. The Church is full of losers who know the value of a good night's rest, but strive to live out their faith with their eyes wide open. When we praise God, we try to lift up our whole hearts. When we learn about God, we seek to have open minds. The church is not the place where old Christians go to die. It's a launching pad for God's love in the world! Now who would want to sleep through that?

Church is for people who have nothing else to lose. Sometimes you just have to go for it. You take the risk, you jump in, you steer your life in a new direction. Church is perfect for losers like that. Jesus said, "those who lose their life will keep it." I think he meant that the more you give of yourself to God and to others, the more you learn the true meaning of life. That means letting go of your guilt and shame. It means accepting the miracle of Grace. It means realigning yourself to a life of discipleship. If you've looked everywhere else and you still feel that sense of something missing... maybe Church is the place for you.

Or maybe not. I understand that some people get their needs met in other ways. I understand that there can be downsides to church... getting up early, talking to people you don't know, listening to a boring sermon, etc. I know that no church is perfect, but I will still contend that there is no other community, no other gathering of people, no other collection of believers better focused on life lived by God, in God, and for God, than the Church. Church goers are losers alright, ready to lose the barriers that keep us from God and each other.

Is Church the place for you? Well, I don't know. Ask yourself this...

What have you got to lose?

Have a Great Week,

Mitch
rmitchelltodd@yahoo.com