Why isn't Church like a Punk Concert?

I just got done listening to a sermon from Jay Bakker that he gave this last Sunday, June 5th, 2011 at Revolution NYC. In this sermon he spoke about accepting our faults, just as the disciples had accepted theirs. By accepting our faults and avoiding a disguise of perfection, we better live out a grace filled life. He pointed out that this is where the church fails it members, it forces us to hide who we are because even the darkest thoughts that pop up with in our brains are part of who we are.

For many of us, our dark sides are a lot more noticeable then others. They cannot hide it from the outside world because it is something beyond their control, like bi-polar disorder, something I am very familiar with, as my wife is one of the many people in the world who suffers from this disorder. My heart breaks with the recognition that the only thing that can be done is to try to control the disorder with meds and therapy. It breaks even farther when the medications fail and my wife spirals to the point of self hatred. It is this self hatred that really caused Bakker's message to stick with me.

My wife is not the only one who hates things about themselves. I also have a laundry list of things that I hate about myself that make accepting God's grace harder and I believe makes my ability to forgive those around me harder. In fact my anger and ability to hang onto my anger are two things I hate about myself. In this we are in good company.

Considered one of the greatest of all the apostles, Paul had much to hate about himself, but he still had one the greatest connections to God recorded and he didn't even learn directly from Jesus as his contemporary did. I believe that one thing that separates Paul from most of Jesus' present day followers is that Paul straight out spoke about what he hated about himself, he confessed to his dark side, and he never, never let anyone forget it! Take what he says about himself in 1 Timothy 1: 15; " This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: 'Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners' - and I am the [WORST] of them all (NLT)!" To steal some imagery from Bakker, this is like Paul's AA meeting.

If church was more like an AA meeting, church services might be more supportive for the worshipers. They might be able to get beyond hiding their sin from each other, they may just be able to accept God's grace and spread that grace to those that they meet. After all, God does love us no matter how sinful they are. Just think about John 3:16, that is how much God loves us. So, if God can love us in our sinful state, why can we not love ourselves and others and God commands us to?

I want to leave you one last thought. Take a look at all of the alternative groups that a person can belong to from being a punk, to a member of a fraternity, or even a gang and an obvious pattern arises. These groups accept you for you and all of your freaky thoughts. You become a member to have a family who takes care of you no matter what. Why isn't the church or our families as accepting? Why is it that we have to search out groups that will accept us when the Church should always, always be that group?

In this final thought I couldn't help but think of some lyrics by Linkin Park. Recently, Linkin Park's songs have had a lot todo with reconciliation. They seem to be calling out to us to give them a reason to change the way that they see that they should. I think one such song that speaks to what Mr. Bakker and myself are speaking about is "New Divide." My understanding of these lyrics is that our singer has seen the grace that God offers, but two things are holding him back from accepting that grace: 1) the representatives of God are not offering what they see is possible in God and 2) the singer themselves cannot reconcile the grace offered with those things that they have done. I will leave you with the lyrics so you can decide for yourself if my assessment is correct.
-Peace God's many Blessings upon you

"New Divide"

I remembered black skies
The lightning all around me
I remembered each flash
As time began to blur
Like a startling sign
That fate had finally found me
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve

So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Give me reason
To fill this hole
Connect this space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide

There was nothing inside
The memories left abandoned
There was nowhere to hide
The ashes fell like snow
And the ground caved in
Between where we were standing
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve

So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Across this new divide

In every loss in every lie
In every truth that you deny
And each regret and each goodbye
Was a mistake too great to hide
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve

So give me reason
To prove me wrong
To wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross
The distance in your eyes
Give me reason
To fill this hole
Connect this space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide
Across this new divide
Across this new divide