Happy Hour at Starbucks

I can't figure out how to change the www address of the blog (i like to pretend i'm not technologically inept) so for now it remains "bradlianne.blogspot.com" haha awesome.

Starbucks is having half off frappachinos May 6-11 or something like that so naturally i decided it would be a great day to blog with my super cheap crack in a cup... i mean Starbucks frappachino. So here i am, without headphones because i have the memory of an 80 year old  and can't find them. So now i get to listen to the pitter patter and banter of the other no-name-wanna-be-cool-blogger-people while i type.

Yesterday in one of my favorite classes we were talking about pornography, the effects of it, some psychological causes for the addiction of it, etc. I know, shocking right? Talking about pornography in CLASS at a Christian college. Who would have thought? (I'll save that sarcastic rant for another day).

Anyways, the topic somehow got skewed and twisted and distorted when the professor opened up the floor to us as students and everyone was asking questions (most of which were relevant to the topic) and then all of a sudden the next comment that was made began something like "AND ANOTHER THING I HATE ABOUT THE CHURCH IS...."

As soon as this student began the sentence this way i just about pooped my pants right there. Literally, i was waiting for the turd to shake out of the bottom of my pants. No joke... ok, maybe a little joke.

I immediately stood up in the middle of this girls genuinely honest complaint about how sucky the church is and told her to shut up, bend over, and pull that stick out of her butt and then take a good nice long look in the mirror.... I didn't say that. I just wanted to sound bamfy for a second. Instead i sat there with the same blank stare i always have when i am in class.

But I did take offense to her statement. I sat there not saying anything because sometimes i'm a little scardy-cat, but inside i was highly offended. And i know any conversation regarding the church is going to be messy and complicated and everyone has an opinion about it but let's step aside from that for a second. Let's step outside of the christianese bubble we surround ourselves in and take a look at what those statements actually mean...

WE. ARE. THE. CHURCH. As the body of Christ, as believers, as individuals who have been saved from our selves and our sins by Jesus who DIED for us in order that we may be reconciled to God and have confessed with our mouths and believed with our hearts that Jesus is Lord and forgives us our sins and saves us from our iniquities by pure grace... WE... the broken, wretched people who don't deserve this gift of life... ARE... holy, and righteous, and blameless before God... THE CHURCH.... the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Jesus.

So, i'm offended by this statement (not in a "i hate you" legitimately pissed way... but in a gentle "ah...that's unfortunate" way) because i am apart of that church she hates. Me and You and You and Her and Him and Her and You and that guy in class with the funky Jesus tattoo on his neck, WE make up the church. And i don't know if you are anything like me, but because you are a human i am going to venture that you are, we're pretty messed up. We got a lot of junk and crap that we lug around. We have wounds and hurts and pains and things that happened to us that shouldn't have. We have huge insecurities and struggles and addictions. We have bags and bags and bags that we carry around every where we go full of poop. Poop that we did and poop that others did to us. We have broken pieces and missing pieces. We make some really awful situations and we pretty much just suck all around. You get the picture i'm trying to paint? These are the people that make up the church. I'd hate the church too if this was all we got from it. The thing is, these broken people make up the body of Christ and so yes, there are things that suck. Yes, there are things that people do that harm others within the church. Yes, there are things that we could be doing better at. But we are not perfect. The church is not perfect. She has blemishes and faults and cracks and weird scars. She's not really pretty when you first look at her. In fact from our perspective she is pretty freaking ugly. And sometimes she is a total beezy. But no matter how grotesque she is, God loves her. God loves her sooooo much. The church is like God's freaking beautiful bride whom He is so stoked about. Even when we suck and we aren't doing our part, He still loves us and thinks so highly of us, in fact He delights in us. God finds favor in us. crazy right?!?!? In me? God finds favor in me? In my messed up life and my runny nose and sporadically horrible skin, he thinks i'm beautiful. So cool. But i just make up one person of the church. But God feels this way about ALL His children... about his church.

ALSO, when you diss the church you are dissing Jesus. You are basically saying "hey Jesus, thanks for dying for me but it's just not good enough." The only reason we get to have this super tight relationships with God is because of Jesus. The ONLY reason we get to stand before God and bask in His glory is because of Jesus. Because God loved us so much that He sent His Son to come down and dwell among us and be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, our suckfest of a human nature. It is through His death and resurrection that we are saved. When we diss the church it makes that ultimate sacrifice not good enough. Jesus was enough! He was and is enough!

Please, pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease. you wouldn't stand in the mirror and tell yourself you hate yourself!!!! even if you would do that, that's really dumb because we are made in the image God so by that very definition we have worth and value and should be treated with respect and kindness (even from ourselves). But for reals, at the end of the day all i'm trying to say which i don't even know if its getting across because i rant like a 65 year old Italian man who had a few extra cups of brandy (haha sorry Nonno). ALL I'M TRYING TO SAY is that we as christians are the church and God loves us and God loves the church and we know that God loves us because He cared enough about us to save us. So don't diminish the cross. Don't take away the power of what Jesus did. Let us rejoice and praise the One who has saved us. After all, we are redeemed and we are shall be called saught after (that one was for you brad).

In the words of a wise wise soul, "don't hate, appreciate." This sucker got it right. Don't hate the church, appreciate it. Lets appreciate God and His incredible goodness. The church is made up of a bunch of broken sinners but we should still love it, just as God has loves us.

ok, i'm done. i promise next time won't be as long and lengthy :)

-amy (i guess i should sign it? so you know who wrote it... me or bradli... eh we'll see ...)