the harem of Jesus Christ

I’ll just say it up front. Some of you won’t like what I’m about to write. For you the best option is to close the browser now. For those of you who choose to stay and read on just know I struggle with saying this as much as you might reading.

I’ve been troubled by the state of the North American church pretty much since accepting Jesus as Lord of my life. Not the teaching, preaching, doctrines or programs (these can be saved for another discussion), rather I’m concerned with the simple fact that Jesus Christ said he is coming back for a bride but the denominations, non-denominational (which is a denomination for those who don’t want to be part of a denomination) and theological camps have forced the church to look more like a harem.

We move independently of each other while claiming to be THE bride as though we are unified. We tiptoe around and play nice when we are in the presence of the King but ultimately we look for ways to prove we are the true bride.

Now I realize some of you are worked up about how I could claim such a thing about the church, the bride. Well, I did and I don’t see anything to lead me to think otherwise. The church in North America is losing ground in the eternal fight for souls. The church is not growing. We are merely moving church goers from one building to another depending on who has the best program or the newest, best preacher.

It’s sad really. Jesus wants to come back to his bride, not a harem. We as the church, the bride of Jesus Christ, have to work together to make a significant impact in the darkness of this sinfilled world. To do that we have to  We have to work together to disciple instead of swapping. We have to start acting like we are one bride instead of individuals.

In the words of Rodney Glen King: “People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?…It’s just not right. It’s not right. It’s not, it’s not going to change anything. We’ll, we’ll get our justice….Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out.”

Amen.